Torn
by ncislove
Summary: Spoilers: Through 'Ex-file' - though some details may have been changed. Summary: Gibbs is torn. He's loved Abby all along, but maybe it's for the best that he stick with Hollis. But Abby isn't going to give up without a fight. Now Complete.
1. Intro

_I've been sitting on this story for a few weeks, the little one-shot called 'Stood Up' that distracted me turned into a bit more than a one-shot…. Whoops. Anyway, fair warning… if you are a fan of Hollis – this might not be the story for you. Rated M for sizz-ex later on. _

_Read & Review _

_Intro_

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Leroy Jethro Gibbs had debated with himself for a long while. The feel of the rough sandpaper in his hands, and the jerky movement of the hand plane over the wood helped him to center his thoughts. He had been having more than professional thoughts about his long-time forensic scientist for some time, and here lately, they had been creeping up more often than not. He contemplated the likely hood of a relationship between them working; was she even interested? He highly doubted it, but the thought still crossed his mind when he allowed himself to relax long enough to think about it. He didn't think he was exactly her type, but he had to admit there was some sort of chemistry. Every time she had a new boyfriend he would mentally compare their similarities and differences, hoping to find a common trait that he could link to himself. When he found out about her short-lived romantic involvement with McGee, he decided that, although he would always love her, it was time to give up. He and Timothy McGee were about as far apart on the scale as he could imagine. McGee was kind and soft-spoken; he was the type of guy who would remember the small things, the one month anniversary, notice the new outfit and he would know the lyrics to her favorite song; even if he didn't like it. It's not as though Gibbs wouldn't notice a new outfit, he already noticed, he just never thought to comment on it. As for the lyrics of her favorite song, he would likely recognize the screaming, but hell, he could hardly remember the name of his own favorite songs, let alone the lyrics. As for the one month anniversary, he was fairly sure he would remember every single day he had with Abby. But McGee knew how to express himself with words. Gibbs considered himself more a man of action. McGee was like a peach, soft and sweet, and a little fragile. Someone for Abby to dote on when needed. Gibbs thought that the day he needed doting on would be the day he was locked away in a mental institute. He could take care of himself, and he liked it that way. It was easier that way. The darkness of the basement was his refuge. He could ask questions in the darkness and know that nothing or no one would bother him with a response. He could still feel the heaviness of previous questions lingering in the shadows.

Abigail Scuito. Abby, as she preferred, swiveled back and forth on her office chair. It was well past mid-night as she sat and waited for her mass-spectrometer to clue her in on the mystery substance. She could've easily gone home, the case wasn't urgent, and if she left the test running the results would've been waiting in the printer when she arrived. But there was something comforting about the quiet of her lab at night. During the day the walls shook from the bass of her CD player, cranked up to an eardrum shattering screech – just the way she liked it. At night she rarely played any music, if she did it was something out of character for her, such as soft jazz or something she would normally consider embarrassing, like love songs sung by Celine Dion. Without the threat of visitors, Abby would move barefoot around her lab, twirling elegantly, humming along softly with her eyes closed. Normally she worked at a rushed pace, but since working through the night was her own choice, there was nothing to rush her and she could just enjoy the sounds of her lab, the cold linoleum under her feet. She had been putting more and more evenings in at the lab. Not because they were busier than usual, but because she found pleasure in placing the results at Gibbs desk for him to find first thing in the morning. He used to question her about staying so late, but she would make up something about, only staying an extra hour, or she was just about to leave but decided to clean some test tubes and the results finishing early. He didn't need to know that she stayed late for him. Lately she had been thinking about her boss a lot more, and the thoughts had been far from innocent. Abby had found herself attracted to him from the moment he first strode into the lab, demanding DNA results from evidence he had sent to her less than thirty minutes before. Since then, every man she had dated had been compared to Gibbs, and subsequently dumped for their short-falls. She felt bad when she had briefly dated McGee, but it was clear after the first few weeks that he was just too… McGee and not enough… Gibbs. It wasn't his fault. She struggled with breaking his heart, but she knew it was for the best. The first few weeks had been more than awkward, but eventually things had settled and they found that friendship suited the both of them. Once things had settled down, Abby vowed to stop wasting her time with men that she knew would never compare. To stop wasting her time on men that weren't Gibbs.


	2. Chapter 1

Gibbs and his team arrived at the Army-Navy golf course in record time. He had been warned by Director Shepard that the Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID) would be eager to steal the case, and she was right. Lt. Col. Hollis Mann was already hard at work when they arrived.

Gibbs barked orders to his team and set off to clarify things with Lt. Col. Mann. He had been surprised at her straight-forwardness, and the fact that she seemed to be unaffected by his harsh tone and even harder look. Ziva stood silently, pretending to search through the crime scene photos while she observed the power-struggle between them.

"What's happening?" Tony asked, sauntering up to her noticing her attention was on Gibbs.

Ziva looked entertained. "Gibbs just met his fourth ex-wife." Her eyes met Tony's briefly and she gave a slight nod towards their boss.

Tony lowered his voice. "You think they'll make it that far? Twenty bucks says Gibbs won't give up this case unless he is put in a body bag first."

"DiNozzo! David!" Gibbs waved them over to where he stood beside Hollis.

"Yes, boss?" They called out in unison, as they jogged towards Gibbs. He didn't look pleased, his hand nearly crushing the white coffee cup he was holding. They were quick to notice the look of satisfaction on Col. Mann's face.

"This will be a joint investigation." He paused to take a sip of his rapidly cooling coffee. "Make sure Colonel Mann receives a copy of everything."

Tony and Ziva stared at their boss momentarily before exchanging glances; Ziva looked a tad smug as she mouthed 'Twenty bucks.' Tony rolled his eyes and nodded slightly.

"Uh, ok boss." Tony gave Hollis his best ladies-man smile. "Anything else?"

"No."

Once they had walked far enough away from Gibbs, Tony dug a crisp twenty dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to Ziva. _Nothing good can come from working with this woman Hollis. Nothing._

---

Tony strutted into the office to find McGee and Ziva working with Hollis. He paused as he had the briefest of brief feelings, likely what Gibbs would call a gut feeling, in which this woman was not supposed to be part of their team.

"I'll update the BOLO." Tony heard Ziva say as she moved from the center of the squad room to her computer.

"What BOLO?" Tony continued towards his desk.

He had expected a response from Ziva, but Hollis was quick to answer him "Well, we've cleared the golf course and we've added everyone as they were leaving, but we don't have any record of this '99 Toyota leaving. The owner's a greens-keeper..."

"He must have used a service entrance and snuck out before we covered them all." McGee finished for her.

Tony tossed a wadded up ball of paper towards McGee. "Nice catch, McGee."

"Uh, no, it's my catch." Hollis said, intersecting the paper, stopping it from hitting McGee on the side of the face. When she turned away from Tony, he mocked her in childish show of behavior that Ziva could only roll her eyes at. Seeing Gibbs on his way in, Tony dropped his view to the case file on his desk.

Gibbs motioned for Hollis to follow him upstairs to the director's office. Hollis sighed and rolled her eyes. She knew that working with Gibbs wouldn't be easy. She followed him up the steps and into Director Shepard's office.

Director Shepard danced around the subject of a joint investigation lightly. She could tell that both wanted to lead the investigation; that they weren't used to following orders from someone else. She knew for a fact that Jethro didn't follow orders, plain and simple as that. She could feel the tension. The sensitive subject matter of the case had homeland security as well as the CIA and FBI breathing down her neck. They wanted the case solved as quickly and as quietly as possible, each preferring to take over the case, none having the confidence in NCIS to do the job. It wasn't something she was going to let them get away with. She had a point to prove.

They assured Director Shepard of the professionalism of their work and agreed to put this at the forefront of both their teams' duties, promising a quick and effective investigation. With that, she dispatched Hollis, Gibbs and their teams to an abandoned warehouse thought to be a hiding spot. The warehouse turned out to be a trap for both teams, Gibbs spotting the bomb when they entered the abandoned building. They cleared the warehouse of people, but when the doors shut, Ziva decided, much to Tony's annoyance, that she could easily dismantle the bomb herself in order to spare the evidence.

"I'm looking down your shirt right now." Tony joked nervously as Ziva examined the wire.

"See something you like?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure it's quite worth dying for."

"I'll remember that when we get out of here."

"You know what I mean." Tony held his breath as Ziva used her knife, splitting the wire into two. "I know you like adventure, Ziva, but how about next time I take you to an amusement park and we can go on a wild roller coaster or something."

"You're welcome. Now we don't have to spend the night sifting through charred evidence."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

---

Once they were safely back in the office, Gibbs finally offered a threat. He stepped close to Ziva, invading her personal space. "If you pull something like that again, David, I will kick your ass back to Israel myself."

McGee hung up and turned to Gibbs "The CIA refuses to give the name of the suspect. They don't want to work the NCIS… or the CID. They figure if they call the file classified, and we can't get the name on our own then we have to hand the case over to them."

"McGee?"

McGee looked at Gibbs momentarily before understanding that he was to hack into homeland security. If they could obtain the name of the informant of the new terrorist cell, they would have a place to start. Tony listened to the bickering between Hollis and Gibbs over hacking; secretly hoping that Gibbs would put the woman in her place and kick her out.

"Mamoun Sharif, boss. Here is his CIA file." McGee handed the printouts to Gibbs only to have them snatched from his hand by Hollis.

"Hey, that wasn't for you. You don't approve of the hacking, then you don't get to look."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize…" Gibbs sighed.

"It's a sign of weakness" The team finished.

Tony, Ziva and McGee watched curiously as Gibbs motioned for Mann to follow him.

"Where you headed boss?"

"To pay Mamoun Sharif a visit."

"Should I get the car, boss?"

"No, you guys stay here and see what else you can dig up."

When the elevator doors shut, Tony wheeled his chair over towards Ziva's desk. "I got a feeling about her…"

"Tony, I do not want to know about your '_feelings_' for her."

"No, no. Not _those_ kinds of feelings, although she is rather attractive when you think about it…" The look on Ziva's face told him to get to the point, or else she would get to it for him. "I've got a gut feeling, like she's about to turn everything up-side down. I really can't explain it."

"Grow up, Tony. As soon as we get this case finished she will be gone. So maybe if you focus on working, she will leave sooner and you won't have to deal with your feelings."

"Wow, Ziva. That sounded like real advice. You were watching Dr. Phil again, yes?"

"I do not even know who that is."

Tony wheeled back to his own desk. "Yeah, I wouldn't admit it either."

---

When Gibbs and Hollis returned to the office a few hours later, they dropped off a VHS security tape for Ziva to bring to the lab, before disappearing into the director's office for an update. A quick trip to the morgue to check in on Ducky was followed by a trip to the lab, a Caf-Pow in Gibbs hand for Abby.

"Oh, come on... down in front, man." Abby stood in front of her flat screen TV watching the tape that Ziva had delivered to her earlier.

"Do all your people talk to themselves?" Hollis whispered quietly as Gibbs set the Caf-Pow on Abby's desk and stepped around it to stand behind her.

"Have you any idea how many ring-dings are sold each day in your average convenience store?"

"Abbs… The customers?"

"The customers, they're talking about everything from the weather to hemorrhoid cream…"

"There is no audio, how do you know?" Hollis looked from Abby to the screen and back to Abby again when she moved her fingers in front of her lips. "Ah, you read lips"

Abby stepped away from Hollis and signed to Gibbs, _Who is this woman?_

_It's a joint investigation, be nice._

_I'm always nice; she's the one that's cranky._

"Can you two stop signing about me, and we focus on the case?" Hollis turned to look at Gibbs

_Focus, _Gibbs gave her one last sign. He chuckled softly when Abby stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

Abby moved on from the video to the phone from the bomb Ziva had earlier dismantled. "Remember the cell phone that was never used? Well it was used, only all the data has been hard-erased"

"Hard erased?"

"Yeah, hard erased."

Hollis just stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"What part of hard erased don't you understand?"

"All of it"

_This woman seems just as computer illiterate as Gibbs. At least he goes along with what I say and doesn't interrupt with dumb questions. _Abby shrugged. "Well then you've come to the right place. A cell phone is very much like a computer, you can delete data off of it, but then if someone knows where to look…"

"Bottom line, Abbs..." Gibbs refocused her with a hand to the small of her back. Subconsciously Abby leaned back against him.

"The cell phone was used once. It was an incoming call. It was deleted and reset."

"You got a number?"

"I thought you'd never ask…" Abby gave an exaggerated dreamy sigh, and stuck a post-it note to Gibbs jacket. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and headed for the door. Hollis didn't wait for the invitation, she followed quickly behind.

---

"So, uh boss?"

Gibbs looked at Tony, but said nothing.

"So anyway, I was just wondering. Are we going to be seeing this Hollis woman around anymore?"

Again Gibbs looked at him, but didn't grant him an answer.

"… because I was just wondering, you know, like should I add her to my speed dial? Should I have her home phone number? You know, is she joining out team?"

"DiNozzo, if you want her home phone number, ask her. But no, she will not be joining my team. Any other ridiculous questions or can I go home now?"

"Oh, uh… well…" Tony caught the glare and realized that it hadn't been a real question. "No, that's all boss. Have a nice evening."

---

"Yo, Abbs!" Tony sauntered into the lab, his jacket swung over his shoulder.

"Just a second, Tony." Abby called from her office. She emerged a few moments later, hung her lab coat on its hook, grabbed her purse and linked her arm through Tony's offered arm.

"God, I need a beer." Tony said as he led her towards the elevator.

"Not that there is anything wrong with that, because there isn't, I mean we're going out for drinks, but any particular reason?"

"This whole 'joint case' crap drives me nuts. It has been such a power-struggle upstairs between Gibbs and Mann. They both want the information 'first', there is no pleasing them both. They don't know how to share."

Abby followed Tony to his car. "Case is closed, right?"

"Yes, thank god."

"Well then, there will only be one boss tomorrow."

They rode to their favorite bar a few miles away. It had become a tradition, Tony and Abby going to the bar every Monday. It made for a good start to the week, and since Monday was the hardest day of the week to get through, it only seemed natural that Monday they rewarded themselves with a beer.

In the beginning they had invited the rest of the team with them, but their constant chatter over the most useless things kept the others from joining regularly.

"Don't you find it odd that some magazine subscriptions say 'for a year' and yet you only get 10 issues, while most magazines you get 12?"

"I know. Personally I think it's just a way for them to save money. Cheap-skates."

Abby saved them a table while Tony ordered two beers. As some point during the car ride, Abby had lost her two pigtails. She raked her fingers through her hair, along her scalp and then pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail. Tony moved cautiously through the maze of tables and set a beer in front of Abby. He sat down and stretched his beer towards her. She touched the rim of her glass to his. They both took a long swallow before setting their glasses back on the table.

"So, was Hollis Mann down in your lab at all? Did you talk to her?"

Abby smirked. "I was signing about her, and she got pretty irritated. I wasn't saying anything bad, just asking who she was. She wasn't impressed."

"It's irritating when you guys are signing. It's not like there is anyone that's deaf in the room."

"You're just jealous that you don't sign."

"I really should learn. I'm convinced Gibbs tells you all his secrets via sign language. I could really gain some insight if I could sign."

"You let me know how that works for you. So what about this Col. Mann?"

"Something about her makes me nervous."

"A woman makes you nervous? Tony, you must be losing your edge."

"Ok, so she's kind of attractive, but she's not just any woman. She's more… I don't know…"

"Mann." Abby giggled softly at the joke she had made with Hollis' last name.

"Gibbs was totally different around her, almost flirty."

"Flirty?" Abby pursed he lips and then took another sip of her beer.

"Yeah, it was just really uncomfortable. He wasn't flirty around her in the lab?"

"No, not at all." Abby fought against the image of Gibbs flirting with someone else. "Hey, do you think Gibbs would ever go for someone like her?"

"I don't know, Ziva said she had thought he had met his newest ex-wife, but I don't think it'll happen. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"What about you and Ziva?"

"Ha! That'll be the day. Nice try, changing the subject. Why are you wondering about Gibbs' next… physical pursuit… for lack of better words?"

"'Physical pursuit? Way to be classy, Tony. I was just curious. Hey, did you hear that Marshall from accounting got caught in a 'red-light situation' in the break room with one of the new agents on Brandon's team. I think her name is Carrie."

"A red-light situation? As in, from our sexual harassment seminar, are you talking about that kind of red-light situation?"

"Uh huh."

"No way, really? What were they doing?"

"I don't know, I was hoping you could find out. I just heard the rumors."

Tony gave her a knowing smile. "I'll find out for you, people can't hide these things from me." The pair sat in the bar a while longer before Tony drove Abby back to the Navy yard to pick up her own car.

"See you tomorrow, Abby."

"Bye Tony."

---

The next morning, Abby strolled into the office, ready for what the day would hand her. The rest of the team was up with the director going over the monthly budget. Her plan was to deliver the coffee she picked up with her Caf-Pow to Gibbs desk, maybe write a flirty note, and then retreat to the comfort of her lab and wait for him to come to her.

She wasn't prepared to see Hollis milling about in the squad room.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh, Abby. I'm looking for my day-planner. I seemed to have left it here yesterday."

"You mean that one?" It lay on McGee's desk where she had spent some time at his computer. The look on Hollis' face showed that she had seen it, but was waiting around until Gibbs came down to help her find it.

"Oh, that's it."

Abby stood waiting for Hollis to leave, when she didn't move, Abby stepped around her and took a seat at Gibbs desk. She placed the hot coffee next to his keyboard and dug around the top drawer for a yellow post-it note. She could feel Hollis watching her, so she drew a simple heart on the note and stuck it to his coffee. "Did you need something else, Col. Mann?"

"Is there something you need to say to me, Abby?" Hollis' voice was on the verge of accusing.

"Uh, nope." Abby placed the pad of post-it notes back in Gibbs desk and shut the drawer, using a little more force than necessary.

"You don't like me, do you?"

"What gives you that…"

"Save it." Hollis snapped. "I can tell. I'm not sure what I did to piss you off, but whatever it was… I'm sorry."

Her apology was nowhere near heartfelt. Abby stood up and grabbed her Caf-Pow. "Don't apologize, it's a sign of weakness. Gibbs rule, number four." Abby didn't wait for a reply; she headed for the stairs down to her lab.

---

Down in her lab Abby squeezed Burt for comfort. She made the loop around her lab, turning on each of her beloved machines, wishing them a pleasant morning. She was busy at one of the computers when the lab doors opened.

"Abby."

She smiled to herself before turning around to face Gibbs. He stood with the coffee she had delivered in his hand, the post-it with a heart still on top. "Morning Gibbs."

"I was in with the director and when I got back to my desk I found this. Now, I saw Hollis leaving, but I'm fairly certain she didn't do _this_." He held up the post-it.

"Must've been Tony, he probably left it before the meeting." Abby played innocent.

Gibbs smiled and slipped the post-it into his pocket. He took half a step forward and leaned the rest of the way to kiss Abby's cheek. "Thanks Abbs."

"Are you going to go kiss Tony next? Because if you are, I'd really like to be a part of that, I mean, not a part of it as in the middle of it, but a part of it as in I'd like to watch. Not in a gross way, just, you know. Just a display of affection between you and Tony, it'd be sweet."

Gibbs clenched his jaw muscles and swallowed his smart-ass remark. "Get to work, Abby."

Abby gave Gibbs a sloppy salute as he walked away.

"Wrong hand, Abbs."

"Oops." Abby giggled, switched hands and then spun back around to her computer.

_-----------------_

_TBC…._

_::review::_


	3. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for all the kind reviews, the mean a lot and are _über_-inspiring. Anyway, on with the show…

-----

Tattoos were nothing new to Abby, she had… well, she had a few. More recently she had been thinking about getting a tattoo in honor of her boss. She was nowhere near ready to admit that she wanted a permanent reminder of him on her skin, but ever since his coma and following jaunt to Mexico, she felt the need to have a part of him close to her, even if it would just be his name on her skin.

So, until she was ready to admit her idea, she scrolled through various other images. Hearing the door to the lab open, Abby looked up to see Gibbs headed towards her. Jumping up she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Gibbs! Thank God you're here"

Gibbs smiled and patted her back affectionately.

"I really need your help. You've got to stop me from doing something stupid. I'm thinking about getting a tattoo." Abby's eyes sparkled up at him as she paused for a dramatic effect. Gibbs fought back a smile and questioned Abby with his eyes as she rambled on. "All these tattoos, you know, I get really nervous because it's such a final decision." Abby scrolled through various images, explaining each one. "Hm, Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, for me the wise one. What do you think?"

This time he had a hard time keeping from laughing. "I don't think I'm the one to ask about this."

"But Gibbs" Abby's voice exaggerated and drew out his name. "You know me better than anyone else, and when you're gonna make a decision that's going to affect the rest of your life you need the person around you that knows you the best for guidance. Please?" Her eyes pleaded with his.

He could never say no when she looked at him like that. "Where do you want to put the tattoo?"

Abby thought momentarily. "Ok, you're right you're not the one to ask." Abby moved from her desk to her other computer. If he wasn't before, Gibbs was now more than interested on what her new tattoo would be, and even more curious to where it would be located.

"Ok, so the CCTV cameras were routed from the bowling alley, whoever was watching the dead marine did it through there. I've even got an address for you."

"You do know what I like, Abbs."

Abby smiled and handed him an address. "Go get 'em, tiger."

Gibbs shook his head before placing a soft kiss on her cheek and exiting the lab.

_Moments like that_, Abby thought, _I live for them._

---

The fact that Hollis Mann was at the bowling alley came as surprise to Gibbs and his team. Lt. Col. Hollis Mann and her team had tracked Sharif to the bowling alley via the use of a credit card. Tony and Ziva again watched the power struggle over the possible crime scene. They rode back to the Navy yard in silence, and watched as both Gibbs and Hollis marched up to the director's office to lay claim over the case.

Although she would never admit it, Jenny found extreme pleasure in the fact that in speaking with Lt. Col. Hollis Mann's superior they had decided to flip a coin for the case. Neither one really wanted it, but they would never admit to it. Jenny found it amusing that she was deciding if Jethro would be working with Hollis based solely on how a quarter was flipped. Although things had long ended between herself and Jethro, she couldn't help but feel that everyone he had been with since wasn't good enough for him. He always seemed to settle, but she knew there was someone better for him out there. She just didn't know who. She could see the flames between them, first fueled by their stubbornness, and their search for power, but then there seemed to be a bit more. She wasn't as pleased when she found that she won the coin toss.

"Funny, us running into each other like that." Hollis kept a straight face, but her voice betrayed her. Ziva and McGee looked at each other at the tone of humor in her voice.

"Funny?"

"You have a better word?" Hollis turned to face Gibbs.

"A few…" Gibbs let out an uncharacteristic chuckle. "…come to mind"

"So the question is, are our cases connected?"

"As connected as McGee and his cute little writing pipe" Tony broke in, walking towards his desk after flicking at McGee's ear.

Gibbs ignored Tony's comment and doled out tasks for his team. "Ziva, you and Tony…"

"Run down the list of the majors deliveries, starting with the most recent."Ziva finished. She grabbed her gun and waited for Tony before walking towards the elevator.

"Find out…"

"If any of them were BZ gas, on it Boss." Tony was at Ziva's side within moments.

Hollis was impressed. "They always finish your sentences?"

"I teach them to anticipate"

"Well they do it well. You must be a good teacher."

"Well thank you very much"

McGee was shocked at the voice Gibbs had used to answer Hollis. This was the most uncharacteristic Gibbs he had ever seen.

While Tony and Ziva were off in search of information on the BZ gas, McGee headed down to Abby.

"Abby, you won't believe who is back…"

"Who?"

"Hollis Mann."

Abby froze and turned to McGee. "Really?"

"Yeah, and I think there might be something there… you should've heard them. So the colonel says to Gibbs, funny us running into each other like that…" McGee recalled the conversation to Abby while she moved from machine to machine. Abby decided that keeping busy was the best way to keep McGee from seeing her displeasure at the fact that Hollis was back.

"McGee, you are reading way too much into this." It was said more for her own comfort than anything else.

"Abby you were not there, you did not see the look on Gibbs face."

McGee cringed at the sound of Gibbs voice. "Look at what, McGee?"

"Hi Boss, I was just…"

"Talking about us behind our backs..?" Hollis finished.

"Well, we were trying to." Abby said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. Hollis didn't miss the sarcasm. She was ready to respond but Gibbs cut her off.

He stepped forward and placed his hand on Abby's lower back, pulling Abby's attention towards him. He brought her attention to his eyes and his voice softened. "What do you have on Sharif?"

Abby sighed, and turned to the computer screen. She decided the best course of action would be to just ignore Hollis and to give Gibbs the results as if she wasn't there. Once the effect of the BZ gas had been explained, Abby watched sadly as Hollis followed Gibbs out of the lab. No kiss on the cheek offered.

Abby hurried McGee out of the lab. There were no more tests to be run, so she decided that the best course for her own sanity would be to leave. She went for a walk downtown before returning to her own apartment. On a normal day Gibbs would've noticed that she left early. She checked her messages, and was slightly disappointed when she found none. When this Hollis woman was around, she found that Gibbs paid a little less attention to her. Not that she was worried. Hollis wasn't a red-head, after all. But then again, neither was she.

---

When the phone rang that night, Abby almost answered with 'Hey Gibbs' but was immediately relieved that she didn't when she recognized Ziva's voice.

"Gibbs might have been infected with BZ gas. He's headed to the Navy Yard to be checked over by Ducky, I thought you'd want to know."

Abby wasn't sure if Ziva had finished when she hung up, but she didn't really care. Quickly grabbing her coat and keys, Abby sped to the Navy Yard to find him. She rushed into the office and abandoned the elevator, taking the stairs down to the morgue. She found Ziva outside the security doors of the morgue and saw Gibbs and Hollis sitting inside, while Ducky moved around them.

"Why is Hollis in there?" Abby crossed her arms in front of her chest. It was a sure sign that she wasn't pleased with the sight in front of her.

"She was with him when Sharif called him and said he was infected."

"She was with him?"

"Yes, I guess a few people have been taken to the hospital. It was a small dose, so they are calling it food poisoning. It's been on the news."

"Is he showing any signs yet?"

Ziva didn't have a chance to answer, as Ducky stepped out.

"So, is he going crazy?" Abby asked nervously. "Poor guy lost his memory and now he might be losing his mind. I don't know if he could handle that. I don't know if I could handle that."

"No, he's his usual self…" Ducky trailed off as Abby pushed past and ran to Gibbs.

"Gibbs, I was so worried…" She threw her arms around him for the second time that day, and hesitated before letting go. She knew she couldn't freak out over every little thing that put him in danger; he was a hard-core field agent so he would always be in danger, but she had a hard time keeping her emotions in check.

"I'm ok, Abbs." Gibbs gave her a tight squeeze before he escorted her out of the morgue, back towards the elevator.

"Yeah, me…" She looked for any sort of acknowledgement. "…too." Hollis followed along behind them. She felt a little out of place when Abby was around and she couldn't quite pinpoint why. She knew of Gibbs previous time spent with Jenny Shepard, she had never gotten confirmation of an actual relationship, but there was chemistry. She could feel some sort of chemistry between Gibbs and Abby, but it was difficult to explain.

She could see the way Abby looked at him, her eyes were full of love, and she flirted openly. Hollis noticed that he wasn't affected by her flirtatious manner, yet the way he looked at her, she saw something she was unable to define.

Abby clung to Gibbs' side on the elevator ride back up to the squad room. When the elevator doors slid open, he walked her to his desk and sat her on his chair.

Abby watched silently as Gibbs, Ziva and Hollis worked awhile on trying to figure out how Sharif could've exposed the BZ gas. When they had done what they could for the evening, Gibbs told them they were free to go. Abby still sat silently at his desk. He looked at her, she was still worried.

"Come on, Abby. We can go grab a cup of coffee, or something." Gibbs knew it would take a little convincing to prove to Abby that he was indeed ok. Abby picked up her stuff and stepped around the desk. Gibbs gave a nod to the others before putting his arm around Abby's shoulders and walking with her towards the elevator.

_Well I guess our evening is over_. Hollis watched them leave.

---

"You can stop staring."

"Are you sure you're ok? You don't feel a little sick?" Abby nervously clutched the coffee in front of her.

"I'm fine, Abbs. He was just trying to scare me. I feel fine. I would have some sort of symptoms if I had been infected. I promise you, I'm not sick."

Abby nodded and looked down at her coffee. "Well, he certainly scared me." In a fire fight Gibbs could handle himself just fine, but when it came to a biological attack, there was nothing anyone could do.

Gibbs reached across the table and brushed his thumb against her cheek. _My girl_. "Don't be scared. I need you to be strong. For me."

"Ok."

---

The next afternoon, Gibbs and Hollis found their way to Abby's lab. They needed to figure out how the BZ gas was being spread to innocent civilians. Hollis couldn't help but feel unwelcome the moment she stepped inside.

"Abbs, do we know how Sharif is spreading the BZ?"

"DMSO…" Abby was about to explain, but Hollis cut her off.

"It carries whatever it comes in contact with directly into the blood stream."

"Wow, cold star for the colonel. So it looks like Sharif…." Abby started to explain.

"Boss!" Tony burst through the lab doors. "We've found him. McGee located his Nintendo DS, it's online right now, and we've tracked him down. He's at the train station in Alexandria as we speak."

Tony, Gibbs and Hollis ran out of the lab to meet Ziva and McGee out front.

Abby watched them leave. "Jesus, do they even need me here?" She turned to Burt. "I know you need me here. So this DMSO stuff is actually pretty cool…" Abby took a page from Ducky's book, explaining the way DMSO worked with certain substances to Bert.

At the train station Gibbs was the first to see Sharif. He knew within minutes he had been affected by the BZ gas. The responsible thing to do would have been to let the others go after him, but Sharif had made it personal. As the effects became stronger, he knew that he should've told his team what he was feeling, but being the stubborn man he was, he followed Sharif instead, leaving Tony to protect the BZ covered money, preventing innocent people from picking it up and becoming infected themselves.

Gibbs found himself alone and disoriented with Sharif. He tried to aim his gun, but he couldn't be sure if it was trained on Sharif or not. He fell to his knees and watched through his blurry vision as Sharif stepped closer and knocked the gun from his unsteady hand.

It had been a close call, Sharif standing over Gibbs, gun in hand, but Hollis managed to save the day by shooting Sharif before he had a chance to shoot Gibbs. He had sworn for a second it was Abby smiling down at him, but his vision cleared slightly and he saw Hollis staring down at him.

Gibbs was forced, much against his will, to go to the hospital for a checkup. The National Guard had administered the antidote, but still he was forced to the hospital. He knew Tony had called Abby and that she was likely worried about it. Whenever he had been forced to the hospital for a check –up he normally swung by her place to reassure her that he was fine; he knew how much she worried, and it was the least he could do. He didn't like to show up empty handed so he swung by the coffee shop for a Caf-Pow. He decided that first he should stop by Hollis' place to thank her for saving his life. It started as easy as that, but when he found himself between her sheets he wasn't exactly sure what happened, the Caf-Pow forgotten in the drink holder in his car.

---

Tony was the unlucky one chosen to call Abby to fill her in on Gibbs and his visit to the hospital. He decided to wait until _after_ Gibbs had been given the all clear before calling her so that he could give her all the details and she wouldn't worry.

"He what?"

"It's just a little BZ gas, but the National Guard had the antidote, so Gibbs going to the hospital was purely a precaution. Trust me, he didn't want to."

"And you're sure he'll be ok?"

"Yeah, they're letting him leave shortly. No need to worry. I promise."

"Thanks for calling, Tony." Abby hung up with a sigh. Her first thought was to call him, but she knew right away that it was a bad idea. He didn't like people breathing down his back, especially if it was people checking up on him. When he had been hurt before, she found the best policy was to wait and let him come to her. He would know that she had been called and if history was an indicator, he would usually stop by her place on his way home to confirm that he was, indeed, ok.

Abby paced for twenty minutes, only pausing to look out the front window when she saw headlights turn onto her street. After forty-five minutes she knew he had had plenty of time to drive to her house, even if traffic had been bad and he had caught all the red lights. She parked at her computer and hesitated briefly. _Come on, Abigail, just do it_. Abby opened her computer and started a program she had made herself. She had uploaded a program, similar to the one at work where she could track the signal of a cell phone when it was turned on. She hadn't actually used it before, only when testing it, while they were all still in the office. The program booted up and she clicked on Gibbs photo. Within minutes a map popped up. She watched as it zoomed in and an address popped up.

It wasn't his home address and it wasn't an address she recognized. After a quick search she discovered the address belonged to none other than Hollis Mann.

Abby shut down her computer. Maybe it didn't mean anything, maybe he had to stop by her place to pick up… she couldn't think of anything that would be at her place. She tried to blink back the tears that were forming. _Abigail, why are you crying? It's not like he's yours. It's not like he's cheating on you. _She decided on the one thing that she knew would help her relax. She went to the bathroom to draw a bath. When hot water filled the tub she undressed, and stepped in.

Abby pulled the blade across her skin once, twice, and then a third time before she was satisfied with the effect. She ran her hand down along her leg. The skin was smooth. She moved to another part of skin and repeated the movement with her razor. She flinched when the blade nicked her skin, and she watched with curiosity as a drop of blood rolled and then dripped, dissipating into the warm bathwater. She closed her eyes and pushed the ugly thoughts from her mind.

When she was done she stepped out and wrapped her robe around herself. She let the tub water drain, and went to her bedroom. Sitting down, she pulled out a bottle of lotion and smoothed it over her legs.

She looked at the phone by her bed, she longed to pick up and dial Gibbs number. She had it memorized, could dial it in her sleep. Abby stood and walked to her closet. She reached up to the top shelf and felt around until she touched what she was looking for. She pulled the old NIS shirt down and shook it out. It was slightly dusty, but the smell of sawdust still lingered. She had stolen the shirt from his house when he had left for Mexico, but when he returned, the shirt had moved to her closet. She no longer needed the comforting smell of him, she saw him daily at work.

She slipped the shirt over her head and inhaled. She had hoped it would soothe her, but it merely worked to add salt to her wounds. She pulled on a pair of underwear and then returned her robe to the hook in the bathroom. She decided that she wasn't hungry enough to heat up the leftovers she had planned for dinner earlier, so she just crawled under her sheets. She hoped for sleep to come quickly, but she was disappointed. It wasn't until after three that she was able finally able to fall into a fitful sleep.

-----------------

TBC…

:review:


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thanks everyone for all your delightful feedback – I feel like I should clarify though… Abby wasn't cutting herself in the end of chapter two. I wanted to give it the feeling like she was, but when I said she ran her hand over the smooth skin of her leg, I meant that she had been shaving. Bu then she nicked her skin and had thoughts of cutting, but pushed the ugly thoughts away, as in, she decided against it.

So, just to clear that up…. Now you may continue on with reading & reviewing : )

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"Someone give me a dollar!" Abby stood in the middle of the squad room shouting at Ziva, Tony and McGee. They were shocked at the absolute 180 from her usual personality.

"What do you need?"

"What do I need, McGee? I_ need_ a dollar."

"I got one for you, Abby." Tony quickly dug a dollar out of his wallet and handed it over.

Abby marched back to the candy machine and finally got what she had been after, skittles. She figured she could use the sugar. She made her way back to the lab. _Why didn't he come to me? He knew I would be worried_. Abby went over everything in her mind. Even a night's sleep hadn't calmed her down. _Why was he going to Hollis? Doesn't he need me anymore?_ Suddenly Abby felt neglected and rejected. "But he always comes to me…"

The three hours of sleep she had managed had done nothing for her mood. The way she felt, she might as well not have gone to bed at all; her eyes were red from crying.

Tony had meant to follow Abby down after a few minutes, but Gibbs rounded the corner. "Grab your gear. We got an explosion at a marine funeral…"

---

"What do you got, Abbs?" Gibbs strode into the lab, Tony following closely at his heels. He stopped behind Abby, peering over her shoulder in his usual manner, inhaling her home-made perfume of gunpowder and flowers.

"Flesh, organs and human tissue, the DNA confirms…" Abby pushed away from her desk and away from Gibbs. As much as she had been worried about him and the effects of the BZ gas, she was still hurt that he hadn't even called her to reassure her that he was indeed ok, and that he ended up with Hollis instead.

"…five different people." Tony continued for her, hearing that she still hadn't recovered from whatever had been bothering her earlier in the day.

"Well, if you've already talked to Ducky, there's not much I can tell you." Abby missed the look the two men gave each other. "You didn't give me much to work with, Gibbs. There is barely any blood, the bodies were probably drained. There were traces of cellulose, fiber, common paper and string."

"The parts were wrapped."

"Yeah, but they are too degraded to get finger prints off of them…" Abby gave her results with far less of her usual excitement.

Gibbs observed her a moment, noticing her bloodshot eyes. He was concerned, but they had a case to solve, he would question her later. Gibbs looked over at Tony. "DiNozzo…"

"… Contact next of kin and get permission to open those two crypts, on it boss." Tony watched Gibbs walk from the lab, and when he heard the elevator doors close, he turned to Abby. "Abby, are you ok?"

Abby nodded. "I'm fine."

"Now, see… my special DiNozzo 'woman's-emotion radar' says that you aren't, and I checked my calendar, you've still got ten days until you start your, uhm, cycle. Abby, you're my best friend, talk to me."

"It's just a guy thing…"

"Oh, and here I thought it might be a Hollis thing?"

Abby smiled. "It might be a combination of the two."

"Care to explain?"

"Lock the door, Tony."

"Ooh, this sounds devious and dangerous. I like it." Tony did as he was told and then pulled a second chair up to Abby's desk. "Alright, spill."

"I hate her. And I'm starting to hate him when he's with her. Ok, so maybe not hate him, but he's not the same. It bothers me. Then, last night, I waited for him to come over. He always does when he's been injured because he knows I worry. He didn't. He was with her."

"You don't know that. He probably ended up drunk with his boat."

"No, he was with her. I know."

"Are you sure?"

"His phone…" Abby realized she had admitted to tracing him. "Ok, ok… so I have this program on my computer at home so that if it's absolutely necessary I can trace your guys' phones, even if I can't make it back to the office. I've never used it before, just when you were in the office once to test it, so I traced him and he was at her place."

"Really, you can do that?"

"Yes, don't tell anyone, it's for emergencies only, and I thought… I don't know maybe he was in a ditch somewhere."

"Why didn't you call him, I'm sure he would've stopped over."

"Tony, you know he doesn't like people smothering him. Plus, he's always just come over on his own."

"I see." A lazy grin spread across Tony's face as he realized what exactly Abby was saying. "You're in love with him."

"I didn't say that, I was just worried. That and I don't like Hollis."

"You love him, admit it. You have too. It's another thing that my DiNozzo meter is good at detecting, a woman in love. "

Abby glared at Tony, but slowly her look softened. "Ok, maybe I do."

Tony opened his arms and waited until Abby moved to him and sat down on his lap. "Don't worry Abby, she was just here for the case, I'm sure she'll go away. Sharif has been eliminated, thanks to Mann. I know, I know, we don't like her, but she did save his life. But with Sharif gone, we're all good now."

"I hope you're right."

Tony patted her back softly, and Abby stepped back. "Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Has anyone ever told you how great of a friend you are?"

"Uh, not exactly. I mean… I… I've heard I'm a great wing-man."

"Tony, you are a great friend. You are my best friend, and I love you." Abby meant it. She could remember a time when Tony first started at NCIS where she was utterly annoyed by his cheeky attitude, but now, now she enjoyed his childish behavior. He made her laugh.

"Really?" Hearing that she loved him warmed his heart. He had always had issues with the term love. Even in a non-romantic way. His family hadn't been the poster for family love, and he could count the number of times his parents had declared their love for him on one hand. Having Abby around made up for the sister he never had, and her love filled the hole his family had left.

"Yes, now be a good friend and keep that bitch out of my lab."

"Ah, I see how it is. Sure you love me. I'm just your cuddly guard dog."

"If the shoe fits…"

Tony rolled his eyes and headed for the elevator. "Oh, Abbs?"

"Now what?"

"Same to you. I'd be lost here without you, and I love you."

---

Gibbs was in a hurry. There was some sick-o killing people and chopping up their body into pieces. He wasn't, however, in so much of a hurry that he missed the obvious displeasure in Abby's voice. He thought back to the evening before. He knew he should've stopped by Abby's place; he'd had every intention of doing so, but somehow his innocent 'thank you' to Hollis had turned into an all-night affair. Finding the Caf-Pow still in his drink holder the next morning had struck a nerve with him.

---

After finding out that Hollis Mann was also involved with their newest case, Tony felt it was his duty to give Abby fair warning.

Abby startled when Tony flew into the lab, breathlessly clutching his sides.

"Tony! Are you alright?"

"Fine. I… I have… news. You… should… hear… me… first." Tony panted. He waited for his breathing to even out before speaking.

Abby directed him to a chair and went to grab a glass of water. Tony gratefully swallowed the water. He smiled his thanks and then spoke. "I just thought you should hear this from me first, so it doesn't come as a complete shock, but she's back. Hollis is part of the current case. She said it ventured into CID territory, because, well I have no clue. I overheard the director say that Hollis was 'on loan' to NCIS until no longer needed, it might go beyond this case. I'm not sure."

"I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth." Abby massaged her temples and closed her eyes. "I cannot stand that woman."

"I hear you, I'll do my best to keep her out of the lab, but I can't promise anything."

"I know…" Abby let out a faint laugh. "Speaking of…" She rolled her eyes and nodded at the door. Gibbs and Hollis were on their way in to check on the knives they had discovered at Len's house.

Gibbs gave Tony a hard look.

"Right, I got phone calls to make. I'll talk to you later, Abby." Tony gave her an apologetic look and her hand a squeeze before leaving.

Abby directed them towards the table containing the various knives and blades that had been brought in from Len Grady's place. She took a deep breath and started on the exhale. "None of them match the incisions that you found on the body pieces, and there is no trace of human blood."

"What about the pork chop we found in his freezer?" Hollis asked, pacing behind the table.

Abby didn't make eye contact with either of them. She grabbed the wrapped pork chop from the freezer, tossed it on the table and sighed. "The incisions on the pork chop match those found on the body parts. Tool mark analysis isn't as precise as say, fingerprints or ballistics, but I can conclusively tell you that none of the blades in Grady's possession carved that pig."

"Well why would they? He probably had it carved…" Hollis sounded slightly annoyed at Abby's lackluster behavior, but softened when Gibbs gave her a warning look. "His partner's a butcher." Hollis gave Gibbs a look behind Abby's back before walking out.

Gibbs waited for Hollis to disappear into the elevator before turning to face Abby. He could tell something was bothering her. Her jaw muscles were tense, and she avoided eye contact. Her voice was flat and where she normally danced around her lab, her steps were forceful and she moved with calculated steps. He didn't think it was something dangerous, he knew that if she felt unsafe she would come to him. This was something different, she was despondent and she seemed lethargic.

"Abby, I'm sorry I didn't stop by last night after the hospital. I was… busy, tired. You know how much I hate hospitals. My mind was a mess."

"Whatever. I'm over it."

"I should've at least called."

Abby avoided his gaze. Gibbs never apologized, but when that failed to warrant a response from Abby he realized that whatever her issue was went far beyond the fact that he hadn't contacted her last night. His thoughts were interrupted when she spoke. "Don't you have work to do? Look it's not something you can fix in the classic Gibbs hit and run style."

"I got time, Abbs." Gibbs leaned against the table in an attempt to show her that he was in no rush, that he had time for her problem.

"It's stupid… it's just a guy. I'm not going to start spilling my guts because you keep standing there."

Gibbs wanted to smile, not because he was happy she was sad, but because usually all he had to do was stand near her, invade her personal space and she would break and tell him anything. It had always been that way. He had learned that the more he asked, the less she told, so he let his strong presence do the talking.

Gibbs was speechless when she walked out.

---

Gibbs standing so close to her, asking her what was bothering her had pushed her over the edge. She was still a bit shocked that she had actually walked out on him, but she was afraid that if she didn't she would say something she would regret and ruin the friendship that they had. She might not have been able to have him romantically, but remaining his friend was something she wasn't willing to risk. Abby hoped that he would chalk it up to PMS or a guy at the club and let it go. She just had to act like nothing was wrong, and she was certain that he wouldn't press. As long as Hollis stayed away from her, she would be fine; just fine.

Abby paid for her Caf-Pow and went back to the lab. It was empty, thank god. She pushed play on her CD player, choosing something a little more 'brooding' she put in her Seether CD, starting it on the song 'No Shelter'. With a few deep breaths, Abby slipped back into her lab coat. She had nearly relaxed completely into her usual role of bouncing around the lab, talking to her machines. The sound of the lab doors gliding open snapped Abby back to reality.

"Abby?" Hollis stepped into the lab.

Abby cringed at the sound of her voice. "I don't have anything else yet. Gibbs will know when I do."

"That's not what I'm here about."

Abby turned to look at her. "What?"

"You know why I'm here."

"You've got something for me?" Abby looked at her hands to see if she was carrying something.

"I'm here about Jethro. I don't know what your problem is with me seeing him, I don't know if you like him, or just don't like me… whatever it is, you need to get over it. I'm sick and tired of the little comments, the attitude, the looks, everything. Move on."

Abby was momentarily speechless. "I'm sorry, but did you just come in here and threaten me?"

"There was no threat in what I said."

"But that's what you meant, right? Stay away from Gibbs, or else….?"

"You said it, not me."

"If you think you can march into my lab, and tell me what to do, then you are dumber than your camo-suit makes you look." Abby stepped closer. "No one tells me what to do in _my_ lab."

"I'm just letting you know that it's time for you to relax and move on. Get over it, Jethro and I are together, you'll just have to deal with it."

"Get out, I'm busy."

Hollis turned to leave, but again turned to face Abby. "I don't see a point in Jethro being a part of this conversation, do you? I think this is between us, don't you think?" When Abby didn't grant her a response, Hollis left.

Abby turned to look at the small figurines on her desk. "Time to stake out the battlefield, this isn't about to be a fair fight, soldiers. He might not want me, but I sure as hell can make her feel uncomfortable." Abby chewed on her lower lip and turned to face the doorway where Hollis had passed moments before. "Bring it on, Hollis. Bring it on."

---

Abby needed time to figure out her plan of action. A small part of her wanted to run to Gibbs and tell him everything, but that thought vanished quickly. She wasn't a little girl who needed protecting; she was a woman who would prepare to fight. Hollis' threat wasn't something she would ignore. She didn't think that Gibbs would ever feel the same about her as she did for him, but they did have chemistry. There was something there, there had to be. And with all the other women he had dated, she had never felt that her personal relationship had been threatened. There was just something about Hollis that turned her off.

Abby decided that her first course of action was going to be clearing her head. The rest of the day went by slower than normal. Gibbs had come back around after finding Len Grady's girlfriend slaughtering the latest victim in the back of her van.

"Where are you off too in such a rush?"

"I have a date."

"A date?"

"Yep, a date."

"Who is this guy?" Every time Abby had had a date lined up she would get Gibbs to run a background check. Ever since Mikel had turned out to be a mental case, Abby couldn't be more cautious.

"Oh, some guy. He's a real stud."

"Have you checked him out?" Gibbs voice was full of concern. _I thought she was having guy problems. He better be treating her right._

"Nah, he seems like a good guy. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Abby."

"What Gibbs? Any normal girl doesn't do a background check on every guy that she goes to dinner with." Abby played irritated, but inside her heart swelled. _At least he still cares._

"Will you call me at the end of your date, so that I know you're home safe?"

"I'll be fine, Gibbs. Anyway, I've got to go, I'm going to be late."

"Call me, Abby."

Abby waved over her shoulder as she left, opting for the stairs rather than waiting for the elevator. Once inside her car Abby let out a sigh. Ok, so maybe she hadn't run a background check on her date. She didn't need to do a check on someone who couldn't put her in any danger. Her first stop was to pick up her date.

"Hey Abby, whatcha got there?"

Abby held up the three Pirates of the Caribbean DVD's. "I've got a hot date with Johnny Depp tonight."

"Good idea, overnight rental, or three-day?"

"Just overnight. I'll finish these bad boys tonight." Abby paid for the DVD rentals and then walked across the street to the mini-mart. Inside she picked up a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Both Ben and Jerry were who she turned to when she was stressed and needed to think. Back at her apartment Abby pulled on her favorite sweats and switched off all the lights. She put in the first DVD in and moved back to the sofa. She pulled the soft blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it securely around her shoulders and nestled into the soft cushions of the couch. She pressed play and reached for the ice cream. Abby halfway paid attention to the film and half way thought of Hollis. She was utterly shocked that Hollis had threatened her in her lab.

She couldn't be direct and tell Gibbs that Hollis bothered her more than anyone else that she could think of at the moment. She couldn't tell him that she'd rather go round two with Chip, the assistant from hell, then deal with Hollis in her lab. No, she needed to try and win him over. At this point she didn't really feel like wasting her time on dating guys that meant nothing, and that she consistently compared to Gibbs, so why not spend her time trying to win Gibbs over. Even if she didn't have a chance with him,_ the chances are pretty small_, she thought, she had nothing to lose. Plus, if nothing else, her flirtatious behavior would drive Hollis nuts.

Halfway through the second movie Abby stared longingly at her phone. It was ten pm, and she wanted to call Gibbs. She wanted to reassure him that she was safe. She wondered if he would come over and watch the last movie with her. She wasn't sure if he was with Hollis or not, but he had said to call when her date was over. No, she changed her mind, if he wasn't going to stop by after being in the hospital than she didn't have to call him. It was childish, she knew, but she couldn't help it. Abby returned her attention to the TV screen in front of her and the ice cream in hand.

She spooned another mouthful of ice cream into her mouth and childishly decided, _what goes around, comes around._

_---_

Gibbs was waiting for her in the lab the next morning. She had seen him the moment she stepped off the elevator; he was pacing in front of her desk, one eye watching the clock, the other eyeing the phone on her desk. He was moments from calling her cell when he saw her. "You didn't call me, Abby. I was up half the night worrying about you. Is this some sort of pay back for not calling or stopping by while I was in the hospital?"

"Sorry Gibbs, I fell asleep." _But, yes, it's not like you called or stopped by after your hospital stint_, she continued in her mind. "You could've called if you were that worried."

Abby noticed a flick of jealousy in his eyes, but just as quick as she saw it, it disappeared. "Well, I didn't want to interrupt anything."

Abby rolled her eyes.

"So are you going out with him again?"

She didn't let it show, but she felt a tad smug. "Nah that date was all played out. We had a good time and now it's over." _As in, I've seen the movies and don't have to see them again for a long, long time. _Abby left out the second half of her comment out again.

_Did Abby just allude to a one night stand?_ That was risky and un-Abby behavior. "Be safe, Abby." Gibbs ran his thumb along her cheek before he left. _My girl_.

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TBC

Review : )


	5. Chapter 4

AN: Thanks for all the review – I've never denied being a review whore, and I'm not about to start! No huge developments/cat fights… just a little build up on the jealousy.

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"Ooh, Boss. I love the red sweatshirt. It suits you. Where were you?" Abby tugged at the draw-strings on his sweatshirt. She had convinced herself that the best route to take was to be her usual flirtatious self.

Hollis stepped beside him, irritated at Abby's flirtatious chatter. "We were at the batting cages. If you check your e-mail you'll see that there will be an NCIS-Army CID baseball game in a few weeks. We were just getting some practice in."

Abby turned away, making herself focus on the case. Poor Paula Cassidy had been hit hard by the loss of her two team members, and right now that was more important than a snotty reply directed at Hollis.

"I was thinking we could all meet at the batting cages for a little training the week before the game. What do you guys think? Boss?" Tony asked excitedly. Baseball wasn't as exciting as football, but he was a sporty guy, he'd gladly play.

"I suppose I should make sure you guys know what exactly you are doing. I don't like to lose." Gibbs directed the last sentence towards Hollis.

"Trust me, against my team, you'll have no choice."

Abby pulled at the collar of her shirt; she felt nauseous_. Did Hollis really just try to out-flirt me_? Abby didn't want to get into a pissing match in front of Gibbs, not yet. She wasn't desperate, _yet_. "I don't know if I'll be able to make it. I've got an upcoming recertification coming up. We'll see."

"I'll send out an e-mail when I get the batting cages booked." Tony smiled; it was a good distraction from the current case at hand.

Abby watched the team file out of her lab and once they were in the elevator she sat back at her desk. A few strokes on her keyboard later, she opened her phone and dialed.

Joe's batting cages, this is Joe, and how may I help you?

"Hi, how much do private batting lessons cost… no, wait… it doesn't matter, I need to sign up for lessons._ Pronto_."

What level of training are you looking for?

"My company has a baseball game in three weeks and I need to kick some ass."

How much experience do you have?

"I went to a baseball game a few years ago."

Oh, well… I think we can work something out.

"Great…" Abby scheduled lessons three days a week the next three weeks until the baseball game.

---

The next place Hollis and Gibbs headed was Ducky's lab. Ducky didn't have much for them yet, and Hollis made an excuse to stay a little longer to speak with Ducky. She decided that Ducky would be the next best thing to asking Jethro about his past.

"You know, a man's heart often tells us how he lived, sometimes it might even tell us how he died. Contrary to popular myth, it never tells us how he loved." Ducky shifted uncomfortably as he looked over at Hollis. He switched off the x-ray lights and moved away.

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to put you on the spot." Hollis followed him towards his desk.

"You won't find a better man than Jethro. He's a fiercely loyal colleague and friend, but he does come with his challenges."

"Tell me about it" Hollis knew that he was more than a little complicated. There was something about him that she just didn't seem able to figure out. "There is a part of him… I… I don't know he just shuts me out. I thought maybe it was Stephanie or their marriage"

"They weren't married long."

"14 months" She paused when Ducky looked at her curiously. "Top of my class in interrogation" She said, explaining how she knew the details.

"Remind me to ask for a highly qualified lawyer should I ever be interrogated by you" Ducky bowed his head in a humorous show of respect.

"I don't want to be another one of his mistakes, Ducky. I know he's been married three times…" She stopped again at the look on Ducky's face when she said three. "…more than three times?"

Ducky grimaced. He wasn't sure if Jethro had mentioned Shannon and Kelly. He should've assumed otherwise as it hadn't told anyone else, he had only found out after the explosion had put him in the hospital with retro-grade amnesia. "Perhaps I should get that lawyer now. Uh, he was divorced three times, married four."

"Jethro's married?" Hollis gasped. She couldn't believe it. How was that even possible? She had been to his house multiple times.

"Heavens no"

"Well than how… oh."Hollis closed her eyes when she realized what Ducky was implying_. No wonder he seems to have baggage._

"His first wife along with his only child."

"Oh my god." Her thoughts moved to the boat in his basement. She had seen him painting the name Kelly on it the last time she was over. "He named the boat Kelly…"

"…After his daughter. She was eight years old."

"What happened?"

"I think you should ask Jethro that." Hollis pleaded with her eyes. She had to know what happened and at this point she had no idea how to go about asking him. "His wife witnessed a murder, she identified the shooter, and he came after her."

"What was her name?"

"Shannon"

Hollis nodded. She placed a hand on Ducky's shoulder in silent thanks before leaving Ducky alone in the morgue.

---

"Jen?" Abby peeked into the director's office.

"Abby?" Jenny looked up from behind her desk. "I'm looking for my earring back. It dropped somewhere and I can't find it."

Abby gingerly stepped around the desk and dropped her to her hands and knees to help look. Something sparkled in the sunlight, catching her eye. "Ooh, I've found it."

Jenny took the earring back and set it on the desk. She pulled herself up and then attached the backing to the earring on her left ear. "Thank you Abby, what can I do for you?"

"Talk?"

Jenny watched Abby for a moment. "I take it you want to talk to Jenny, and not director Shepard?"

Abby nodded.

Jenny motioned for her to have a seat on the sofa, and sat beside her. "What's bothering you?"

"Gibbs?"

Jenny couldn't help but laugh. "Well this is a first. I didn't think he could do anything wrong in your eyes. What has he done?"

Abby avoided looking up at Jenny. "Well, I… It's hard to describe."

"Abby, you aren't talking to your boss, you are talking to a friend. Tell me what's bothering you?"

"He doesn't act the same around me anymore."

"Anymore? What do you mean?"

"With her around."

"Her?"

"Hollis."

Jenny decided not to hold back a smile. She thought she was the only one who wasn't a fan of Hollis. "Oh Abby, I'm sure he's just a little distracted. Things haven't been easy around here lately. I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon. And let me let you in on a little secret. I don't like her either."

Abby's eyes grew wide. "Really?"

Jenny gave Abby a devious smile and shook her head. "No. I didn't have a choice but to bring her on board. The CIA was hounding me. Don't worry, Abby. Things will get better. How about I take you out to dinner tonight? I could use a distraction from the CIA and a little girl talk would be a nice change of pace."

Abby lurched forward and wrapped her arms around the director. "Thanks Jen."

Jenny offered to escort Abby back to her lab. Gibbs watched curiously as Jenny walked with Abby, an arm around her shoulders as she shared a laugh over something. _Abby going to the director for a friendly chat? Now that's something new_.

---

Gibbs was at a loss as for what to do. He ran his palm over a freshly sanded section of his boat, noticing certain areas that he needed to go over a second time. _It seems that over the past four, maybe five… wait, has it been six weeks? Abby hasn't been herself_, Gibbs worried. He hadn't noticed the behavior right away, things changed slowly. She seemed to be hiding the fact that she had dates most nights of the week, and when he did question her about them, she played them off as one-night stands, something very un-Abby. He had overheard a phone conversation, she had mentioned the name Joe, but without a last name there was nothing he could do to find more information. Gibbs tried to remember when it had started. He remembered her saying something about problems pertaining to a guy back when they had worked the case of Len Grady and his girlfriend.

Gibbs poured another inch of bourbon into his empty glass and then brought it to his lips. When Tony scheduled team-time at the batting cages, Gibbs had been sure Abby would've been the first one there, waiting impatiently for their team-bonding time. Each time she had given a vague excuse as to why she couldn't make it. He had hoped she would show up, he wanted to take her out afterwards.

Things had been busy lately and he hadn't been able to spend much time in the lab. The times he was in the lab, he was usually followed down by Hollis. He hadn't taken up any of their usual flirtatious bantering like usual either, he could tell that it put Hollis off, and he didn't want to be rude, but with Hollis always tagging along, he felt like he was slowly losing his close friendship with Abby. He refused to let his relationship, whatever it was, with Hollis come between him and Abby. She was the one woman who hadn't given up on him in the past fifteen years. She was more important than any other relationship, physical or otherwise, although he had to admit, he was beginning to care for Hollis, more than he would like to admit.

He had asked Hollis one night over a dinner out, if she had noticed anything off about Abby. She had shrugged it off and said she didn't understand 'those types of people' referring to Abby and her other Goth friends. He had been insulted at her insinuating that Abby was different from anyone else.

---

Hollis found Gibbs working on his boat. It wasn't an uncommon sight; she just wished he spent a little less time in his basement, and a little more time doing various things with her.

He looked up and smiled at her as she made her way down the steps.

"Can we talk, Jethro?"

"That's nothing a man likes to hear."

Hollis smiled and kissed his cheek as she passed him. She walked to the work bench and picked up a piece of sandpaper and the moved back to his side.

"I was just wondering if this was a permanent thing."

"I guess I'm wondering what you mean by permanent?"

"I mean, I like you and I think you like me too" Gibbs didn't answer, he couldn't answer, so he kept working on his boat. "You're going to have to confirm or deny that,"

"I like you."

"Good. Well as you know, when two people like each other, they usually like to spend time with each other. I consider my time valuable, thus I consider time spent with you an investment." Hollis frowned when he looked away. "I'm not asking for promises, I'm just asking if you're in this for the long haul. I want to start building something, and I want to build it with you."

"I do like you, I'm just…"

"Wounded? Broken?"

"What makes you think I'm wounded or broken? We've got a case going on. We just lost two NCIS agents."

"I know about them, Jethro."

Gibbs was taken aback. "You were with me when we got the call, of course you know."

"I'm not talking about the dead agents. I'm talking about Shannon and Kelly. Why didn't you tell me?"

"They were my past. They died. I've moved on." He hated to talk to anyone else about Shannon and Kelly. The only person at NCIS he had told had been Abby. It was in her early days of working with them. She had come to him, crying over the death of a beloved aunt. Somehow he had found himself recalling the events surrounding the death of his wife and daughter. He hadn't noticed, but Abby had held his hand while he spoke. Only when he finished did he realize that he had been squeezing her hand the entire time. He had asked her not to tell anyone, not that he was ashamed, but he didn't want to deal with the questions and the looks of pity when people found out. He managed to keep it a secret until Jenny had dug it up while trying to find information on his past and medical history during his time in the hospital.

"Well, I'm leaving for Fort Bragg. I'll be back in a few days. Think about it."

Gibbs watched her leave and then dug out his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Abbs… care to keep an old marine company over dinner tonight?"

"Hey Gibbs! I would love to, but I can't. I'm just on my way out the door to have dinner with the Director. Another time?"

"Yeah, another time. Tell Jen I say hello."

"Will do. _Bye!_"

Gibbs hung up and poured himself another drink.

----------

Jen looked up from the papers she was reading at the disturbance. "Come right in, Jethro. The closed door is just a pretense."

"What were you doing with Abby last night?"

Jen stifled a laugh. "I took her out to dinner and we talked. Is that alright? Or should I schedule dinner with her through you?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes at her. "What did you talk about?"

"None of your business."

"Jen." Gibbs shifted uncomfortably, and his voice dropped a level. "Is everything ok with her?"

"Don't worry. She isn't considering another job offer. It was a little woman to woman chit-chat." Jen returned her attention to the paper she had been reading. She listened to Gibbs' footsteps as he neared the door. "But if you're concerned about her, you should talk to her."

Gibbs hesitated and shut the door behind him.

_----------_

_TBC…._

_Review_


	6. Chapter 5

Alright, kiddos… some friendly reviews have convinced me to post not once, but TWICE in one day; lucky ya'll.

------------------------------

Abby hadn't lied when she had originally told the team about recertification. It was something she had to go through every two years, a refresher course for lab protocols. What she hadn't been truthful about was the fact that she could easily make the game.

Batting lessons had been well worth the money. Joe, her batting instructor taught her as much as he could in the three short weeks they had together. He had found that she was extremely motivated to learn, and hung onto every last piece of advice he had given.

Unfortunately, her recertification class had taken longer than she expected and she had to rush to the game. By the time she arrived Hollis' team was up to bat in the final inning. Hollis was up to bat, the bases were full and she managed to hit the ball. Gibbs team was quick, so only two runs were made. Abby ran to the bathroom and changed into a pair of black sport pants and the team shirt Tony had insisted on making. She jogged out to the field in time to see Palmer strike out. Gibbs team was down by one with two outs.

"Guys, I'm so sorry I'm late." Abby saw the pained look on Tony's face. He had planned on batting next.

Gibbs smiled. "DiNozzo, let Abby bat. She hasn't had a chance yet."

"But Boss… we're down by one and have two outs already."

"Tony, it is just a game." Ziva's elbow made contact with Tony's stomach and he doubled over.

Gibbs walked over to Abby, he knew he was likely tossing the game, Abby wasn't exactly a fan of sports, but she looked excited to bat and he couldn't deny her that. She was part of the team. He had been sad that she had missed training, and he had kept an eye out for her during the game. It wasn't like her to miss anything that she would consider team bonding, hell, he thought she lived for team building, but then again, thinking back over the past few weeks she had been acting differently. He reached out to hand her a bat, but she waved it away.

"No thanks, I brought my own." Abby pulled a baseball bat out from her sports bag. Gibbs laughed when he saw the black bat with small skull and crossbones decorating it. The umpire jogged over to check it out, and nodded his approval. Hollis Mann stood with the ball, ready to pitch, at the center plate. During her team's practice they discovered her ability to throw, and she had been designated pitcher.

Abby stretched her arms as she stepped up to bat. _It's time to make Joe proud,_ she thought. She could hear the well-wishes of the NCIS team standing in the dugout behind her. McGee was waiting at second base. She could get him home and tie the game up, or she could hit a home run and the game would be over. There was no third option.

Abby nodded that she was ready and she watched Hollis prepare to throw. Abby had planned to strike out the first time; she hadn't had the chance to watch Hollis throw, and she wanted to know exactly what she was dealing with. The second time she struck out, it had been a mistake. She could practically feel Tony stressing behind her; he wasn't a good loser.

Abby smiled at Hollis and Hollis smiled back. _You can wipe that smug look off your face, Hollis_. Abby had toyed with the idea of hitting the ball to hopefully fly directly back into her face, but that wouldn't win the game. Plus, everyone would pity her if she ended up with a swollen face or a broken nose. _Although I bet Gibbs probably wouldn't kiss you if I messed you up bad enough, at least not for a while. No Abigail, focus on the game._ Abby shook the thoughts from her mind. She had to think beyond immediate satisfaction. She watched Hollis throw, and she swung.

_CRACK! _

The sound of the ball crashing into the bat as she swung, rung in her ears. Abby hesitated briefly to watch the ball fly over the fence before she started to jog joyfully around the bases. Tony and the rest of the team cheered loudly. From third base Abby skipped to home, throwing a cartwheel in for good measure, and into the outstretched arms of Tony.

"I knew you could do, I knew it!" Tony swung Abby around, but stopped when Gibbs' hand collided with the back of his head.

"Sure you knew I could." Abby rolled her eyes at him and smiled. Gibbs pulled her into a hug, and she felt like it was the first hug he had given her in weeks. With Hollis constantly around, Abby now felt as though the hugs and the kisses to her cheek had all but disappeared. Abby clung to him tightly, but pulled away at the sound of Hollis' voice behind her.

"Well Abby, I didn't think you could hit the ball. I was wrong."

To Abby it sounded like: Well _Abby, I didn't think you were going to put up a fight for him. I was wrong._ Abby looked at her. "Oh, I can hit. When I set my mind to something I don't back down, I take what I do seriously. There is a lot you don't know about me."

Tony and Ziva noticed the tension between Abby and Hollis immediately. They looked to Gibbs who seemed not to notice the double meaning of Abby's words; he was still smiling at her. "So… Abby, you must tell me how you learned to hit so well." Tony placed his hands on Abby's shoulders and directed her back towards the dugout.

"It's a long story, I'll be sure to tell you. Right now isn't the time."

"Does it have to do with beating Hollis?" Tony lowered his voice when they were a few steps away.

"If I said three weeks of intensive training to the tune of $900 dollars…?"

"I would say, damn! Did you really? Well, you certain stuck it to her on the field."

"Then I would say it was worth every penny. Maybe you want to practice with me some time, keep my skills fresh? The $900 didn't include the $150 I spent on a customized bat and I'd like to get a little more use out of it before I mount it on my wall."

"I think we could take the occasional afternoon at the park."

"I'd like that."

---

After the baseball game everyone agreed to meet at the sports bar across the street. Slowly, one by one they trickled in, some taking longer than others because of the limited number of showers. Abby took a seat across the table from Gibbs. He watched her as she settled into the chair, resting her forearms on the table in front of her. He watched her eyes track Tony as he made his way across the bar to get them all a beer. Her left hand moved up to her mouth and Abby rested her chin in her palm. She looked at Ziva out of the corner of her eye and smiled, nodding slightly at Tony who struggled with the weight of the tray carrying the beers to the table. Ziva returned the smile before standing to assist. Gibbs noticed Hollis had arrived and was taking a seat next to him. He glanced away from Abby momentarily to look at her, and in that brief moment he missed the frown that tugged at Abby's lips.

They had all gathered at a large table, but after the first beer most people left, already having plans for their Saturday afternoon and evening. Soon it was just Gibbs, Hollis, McGee, Tony, Ziva, Abby and Ducky.

Abby felt like Hollis was dominating the conversation, so she got up and sashayed up to the bar, the two beers she had had put a little extra something in her step. She could feel Gibbs eyes as well as a few others in the bar on her. Since she had only made the last few minutes of the game she hadn't had the need to change. The sport pants she wore accentuated her butt and she knew it; it was the reason she had bought the pants in the first place. The team shirts that Tony had insisted on weren't the most fashion forward, but it hugged her curves nicely.

The bartender was a man that Abby knew through a friend. He was similar in age to Gibbs, and although his hair had started graying, it was still mostly dark brown. "Will! What's a girl got to do to get another beer around here?" Abby asked, leaning across the bar; a little flirting never hurt, and she certainly wouldn't mind if it caught Gibbs attention.

"I dunno, Abby. What _can_ you do?" Will was a married man but he was still a ladies' man at heart. He could flirt with the best of them and that's what Abby needed; fun flirting, plain and simple, no feelings attached. No feelings to hurt.

Abby wiggled her hips. "I can do a lot, but I ain't doing a thing until I get another beer. Quit holding out on me!"

"Alright, alright, this one is on the house, since I heard you won the game today. Good job." Will set a beer bottle in front of her and bowed his head.

"Thanks Will." Abby raised her glass and winked at him before taking a sip. She turned back to the table and her eyes caught with Gibbs. She gave him provocative smile and wink as she walked back to her seat.

"You know him, Abbs?" Gibbs nodded towards the bar.

"Yeah, I know him through a friend." Abby didn't think she needed to mention the part where he was married to her friend.

Suddenly country music filled the air. "Tony!" They all groaned when Tony smiled at them from the old-fashion jukebox.

"Oh come on, its fun. Ziva want to dance with me?"

"No." Ziva fought a laugh.

"Oh."

Hollis reached for Gibbs' hand. "It does sound like fun, come on Jethro, let's dance."

"I don't dance."

"Sure you do, everyone dances."

"I don't."

Abby saw the perfect moment to enter the competition. She mustered up her best puppy-dog pout. "Will you dance with me," Abby paused for a semi-dramatic effect and looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Since I won the game?"

Gibbs could feel his resolve crumble under the look that Abby gave him. He really didn't want to dance; he hadn't with anyone in years, let alone enjoyed it. He closed his eyes momentarily and sighed. "You get one dance, and only one dance, because you won the game, and you know how much I hate to lose."

Abby jumped up from her chair and jumped up and down excitedly before rushing around the table and throwing her arms around his neck before he even stood. "Yay!"

Tony stepped back over to the jukebox. He winked at Abby and then mouthed, "I'll try and pick a long one."

Abby bit her lower lip to control her smile as she let Gibbs lead her out to the dance floor where a few other couples were dancing. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her and they moved gently with the music.

_I've been a rock, and I've got my fences  
I never let them down  
When it comes to love, I keep my senses_

_I don't get kicked around_

"You didn't tell me you were so good at baseball. I had no clue."

"You never asked, Gibbs. There is a lot about me you don't know."

"Apparently, is there anything else I should know, any other hidden talents?"

"I have lots of hidden talents, Gibbs, but a girl can't reveal her secrets. They are meant to be discovered." Abby attempted to keep a straight face, but failed.

Gibbs smiled; he had missed their flirtatious banter.

_I shivered once  
You broke into my soul  
The damage is done now  
I'm out of control  
How did you get to me?_

"You haven't been around as much lately, Abby. Anything going on that I should know about?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been leaving earlier than normal, always rushing off somewhere. Is everything ok?"

"Everything is fine. You know that I would come to you if it wasn't. No worries, no crazy ex's are stalking me at the moment, maybe next week."

"I hope not." Gibbs rested his chin on the top of her head as they moved.

_No one else on earth  
Could ever hurt me  
Break my heart the way you do  
No one else on earth  
Was ever worth it  
No one could love me like,  
No one could love me like you._

Gibbs sighed contentedly, satisfied to have his arms wrapped around Abby. There was something that she wasn't telling him, he could feel it, but at least she confirmed that no one had been harassing her. That was enough for now. He noted how easily she fit against him. He had been doing a good job of ignoring his feelings the past few weeks, his time spent with Hollis was an easy and welcome distraction from what he felt for Abby, but it was no replacement. Try as he might, his heart still fluttered every time he saw her, or smelled her gunpowder perfume. There was no escape.

_You could make me want you anytime you want to  
You're burning me alive  
I can't deny you even when I catch you  
Weaving a weak alibi  
_

Abby rested her head on Gibbs chest. She could feel the eyes of those still seated at the table on her, especially the lasers directed from Hollis, but she didn't care. It seemed like it had been forever since they had shared close physical contact. Since Hollis became a steady presence at the Navy Yard, the kisses on the cheek, the hand on the small of her back, all the small things had started to disappear. Simply put, she had missed him, even though she had seen him every day.

_Cause when the night falls  
You make me forget  
Your love is killing me  
And it ain't over yet  
How did you get to me?  
_

"So Gibbs, how is she?" Abby gave a sly wink.

"She? How is she, what?"

"Hollis. Between the sheets?"

"Abby!" Gibbs pulled back slightly to look down at Abby. "Why on earth would you ask me that?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious you two are in a relationship. You guys try to hide it from us, and play it off as some casual thing, but we aren't dumb, Gibbs. So if you ever want to talk…"

"I don't even know how to respond to that." Gibbs was shocked. Sure he'd expected his agents to pick up on the fact that he and Hollis spent time together outside of work, but Abby's blunt question had thrown him off.

Abby knew it was only a matter of time before Hollis stepped in and brought her down a few notches, so she wasn't shocked to hear Hollis clear her throat and then ask to cut in. In some way, it was right on time. Abby wasn't sure she wanted to hear what Gibbs had to say in return to her question. Abby wasn't about to be rude in front of Gibbs, but noted with satisfaction that Gibbs didn't release his hold on her until she pushed away.

There wasn't much time left in the song. Abby finished the song dancing with Tony.

"You let her break in the dance?"

"I thought about kicking her in the shin when I stepped away, but I didn't think that would fit in such a _classy_ place like this."

When they were done she excused herself to go to the bathroom.

Abby noticed with satisfaction that Gibbs had continued to watch her while he danced with Hollis. When the song finished he moved back to the table, declining to dance to another song with Hollis.

Inside the bathroom she fought against the need to put her fist through the wall. She splashed her cheeks with cool water and took a deep breath. She knew she should've expected it, but she still cringed when she heard the bathroom door open. Hollis stepped around the corner and took her place behind Abby.

"What do you think you're doing out there?"

"Having fun with my friends, Hollis, maybe you should try making friends someday."

"I have friends."

"No, see… when I say friends, I mean people that like you. Not people that follow your orders because they have too or want their pay check at the end of the week. There is a big difference."

"Shut up, Abby."

"Oh my, are you jealous?"

"And what would I be jealous of, you aren't the one taking Jethro home after the evening is over, are you?"

That had stung, but Abby pushed the thought of Gibbs going home with Hollis out of her mind. "No, but I think you might be jealous of my cute little ass and the looks it's gotten."

"Sorry, I'm not jealous of your ass. I've got my own, and I can shake it if I want to. I just don't feel the need to do so for attention. I believe they would consider that being an attention-whore."

"Oh Hollis." Abby sighed. "You couldn't find your ass with both hands, even if you tried."

---

Ziva watched Abby clench her fists and then stretch her fingers. She could tell that she was getting agitated, so she wasn't surprised when Abby excused herself to go to the bathroom. When Hollis did the same thing moments later she decided that for safety reasons she should follow.

Ziva walked to the bathroom, ignoring the comment about 'women always going to the bathroom in groups' that Tony made.

Cautiously Ziva pushed the door opened and stepped inside. She could hear Abby and Hollis speaking heatedly with one another.

"_No, but I think you might be jealous of my cute little ass and the looks it's gotten."_

"_Sorry, I'm not jealous of your ass. I've got my own, and I can shake it if I want to. I just don't feel the need to do so for attention. I believe they would consider that being an attention-whore."_

"_Oh Hollis, you couldn't find your ass with both hands, even if you tried."_

Ziva wasn't sure they would be able to walk out of the bathroom if she didn't intervene. She opened the door and let it shut a little louder than usual and then stepped around the corner. "Hello." She nodded at Abby and stepped up to the sink beside her. "My fingers get so sticky from those buffalo flings Tony insisted on ordering for everyone."

"Wings, Ziva." Abby corrected, her look softening with a smile tugging at her lips.

"Wings? A buffalo does not have wings."

"It's the sauce, buffalo sauce. They are chicken wings."

Ziva watched as Hollis wordless walked away, towards the door. "I knew it was chicken…" The door shut behind Hollis. "But what the hell happened in here?"

"Nothing."

"Abby, you cannot possibly tell me that _that_ was nothing!"

"Hollis and I don't get along. End of story."

"Why?"

"We just don't."

Ziva peered at Abby a little longer and then a light-bulb went off. "You have feelings for Gibbs, don't you? That's why you two do not get along, there is some competition for him. Am I right?"

Abby thought about denying it, but Ziva would just see through it. "Yes."

"Oh my god, Abby, you have not said anything to him?"

"Of course not, he doesn't feel the same."

"You do not know. A man's brain is very… un-definable."

"Well, he's with Hollis. I can't do anything while he's with her."

"She will not last long, Abby."

"Come on, they'll wonder what's taking so long."

"I know. I'm sure in Tony's mind we have already had sex in three different positions here in the bathroom."

Abby couldn't help but laugh. "If he asks, tell him it was good."

The women walked back out to the table laughing and it caught the attention of those still sitting at the table.

"Ladies, that took awhile. What was going on in there?" Tony raised a suggestive eyebrow.

Abby looked at Ziva. "You were right."

"Yes. One of the times I can't exactly say that I am proud to be correct." Ziva turned to look at Tony. "Yes Tony, it was good."

Tony looked at Abby and then to McGee and Gibbs. "Did I miss something?"

"Jethro… you said you would look at the leak in my bathroom?" Hollis placed her hand over his, and looked at Abby as she spoke.

"Right, we should get going. I don't want it to get too late, I need to still be able to run by the hardware store afterwards incase a simple clamp won't hold." Gibbs swallowed the last of his beer and set the glass down. He stood and looked at his team. "Good game, guys. And you…" He placed a hand on Abby's shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "…have amazing batting skills. I'm _more_ than impressed."

Abby closed her eyes and wished for a kiss on the cheek. She didn't get her wish, but was still satisfied when he ran his thumb along her cheek, _my girl_.

Ducky offered to walk them out, he needed to get home to mother.

----

Ziva waited for Gibbs and Hollis to leave before speaking. "Does Tony know?" She looked at Abby. Abby nodded. "Does McGee know?"

"Does McGee know what?" McGee sat his beer down and peered at Ziva and then at Abby.

Abby shook her head.

"McGee. Leave." Ziva instructed.

"What? Wait, why? What's going on?"

Tony caught on to what Ziva was referring too. "C'mon Probie, don't you have some writing at home to do?"

"Guys, it's ok. You don't have to make him leave."

"Will someone just tell me what's going on?"

"Abby is in love with Gibbs." Ziva and Tony blurted out together.

McGee looked shocked but then burst into a fit of laughter. When Ziva and Tony didn't join the laughter, he regained his composure and looked at Abby. "Are they serious?"

Abby nodded.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, Timmy."

"Nah, it's ok. Don't be sorry. We didn't work out, but we're friends. I'm good with that."

Abby gave his hand a squeeze.

"Oh God, having Hollis around must be killing you!"

"It isn't exactly a joy." Abby lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. The small group drank on.

---

The next morning Abby was far from her cheerful self. Gibbs hadn't had the chance to talk to her about it privately, there had always been someone else in the room, and he knew that if something was bothering her, she wasn't likely to air her dirty laundry to a crowd.

"DiNozzo."

"Yeah, boss?" Tony quickly closed the game he had been playing online. Their morning had been slow, and he figured a few games of bejeweled wouldn't hurt.

"Do you know what's bothering Abby?"

"You mean, aside from the monster hangover she's got?"

"Hangover? We just had a few beers yesterday."

"Yeah" Tony leaned across his desk and spoke a little softer. "Same with Ziva, that's why she's spent so much time in the dark of the lab this morning. Last night turned into some sort of tequila-induced girl talk. I don't know how many shots they did after McGee and I left, but they were up to number four or five when we left. I'm surprised they both made it in today."

"Tequila? Abby doesn't drink tequila."

"Well she did last night, and she drank a lot. They both did. She should be fine by the afternoon. I've seen her hung-over like this before. After lunch it's like a light switch, and she's fine. I'm a bit worried about Ziva though, I don't know how she handles her alcohol. I think it'd be for our benefit if we kept her away from any sharp objects."

"Uh huh…" Gibbs tapped his pen absentmindedly on his desk. He knew for a fact that Abby didn't drink tequila. She had told him over one of her birthday dinners that she planned on never touching the stuff again. Apparently, after a night filled of tequila she had made some questionable choices. Luckily one of her friends had been less intoxicated and had made sure she didn't do anything too drastic, but still she had said the world would be coming to an end before she would touch the drink again in the form of a shot. "She didn't say why they were drinking tequila?"

"Nope."

"Oh alright, and DiNozzo, delete that game from your computer, or else you'll be here all night rewriting every file we've done this month."

"Yes boss."

The rest of the day went by without much excitement. Tony seemed to be the unlucky one chosen to receive the brunt of the two women's alcohol induced anger, however, like Tony predicted Abby seemed to magically recover after lunch. Ziva was a little slower on the recovery, but she too managed to climb from the fog of her hang-over.

"DiNozzo."

"Yes, boss?" Tony looked up. Ziva and McGee had just left for the day, and Tony was just about to follow.

Gibbs motioned for him to come over to his desk. "New case."

"I didn't hear the phone. Should I call back McGee and Ziva?"

"No, this isn't exactly on the record… they don't need to be involved."

"Uh, ok." Tony shifted uncomfortably in front of Gibbs. "What is it?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with Abby lately?"

"Yes, well… I always see Abby, we've always been friends outside of work as well."

"Then no doubt you've noticed that she's been a bit on edge and distant lately, besides today's hangover?"

"Um…" Tony wasn't sure what to say. Of course Abby hadn't been herself lately, not since Hollis had all but set up shop with Gibbs. "Maybe, I guess…"

"I want you to figure out what's going on with her. I tried to talk to her the other day and she said something about a guy, but wouldn't give any details. I want a name and an address. I want to know everything about this guy."

Tony was at a loss, unsure of what to do. On one hand, he looked up to Gibbs and would never lie to him purposely. Gibbs was like family, and he trusted him. However, on the other hand Abby was his best friend and she had spoken to him in confidence about her issues with Hollis and her feelings for Gibbs.

"Sure boss… um, do you think maybe we could grab a beer this evening?"

Gibbs looked at the agent. _Did Tony just ask me to grab a beer with him?_ "DiNozzo, is there a reason…something I should know about?"

"I… I just thought, well…" Tony shifted his gaze to the floor. "Maybe we could talk."

Gibbs hadn't seen Tony look so uncomfortable since, well, ever. "Sure, Tony." Gibbs softened his tone. "You know the bar on 5th and Vine?"

"Yeah, I know the place."

"I'll meet you there in an hour."

Tony looked extremely relieved and moved back to his desk. He waited around, organizing his desk and checking his mail until Gibbs finally left.

"See you soon, Tony." Gibbs confirmed.

Tony nodded and waited until the elevators closed behind his boss before he pulled up the information he was looking for.

---

Gibbs was already at the bar when Tony arrived, sitting at a table near the back. Two beers sat in front of him, when he saw Tony making his way towards the table he pushed one towards the seat opposite him. "You're late."

Rather than respond, Tony dropped a file on the table and pushed it towards Gibbs.

"What's this?"

"The info you wanted."

Gibbs took a drink a drink of his beer and opened the file. Tony watched for the reaction on Gibbs face.

"DiNozzo, I know my own address. What is all this about?"

"Look boss, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. I think of you as family, I respect you, I know I might not always act like it, but I do. However, Abby is my best friend. She's been there for me when I needed it most. So this…" Tony motioned to them sitting in the bar. "can't leave the bar."

"Tony, what are you getting at?"

"Gibbs, that guy that Abby was talking about… the reason she's been so miserable lately, it's you. She'll kill me for this, but I've got to say it. She's in love with you, boss."

The noise of the bar faded into the background as Tony spoke. Gibbs thought he felt his heart stop. He had sensed the tension between Hollis and Abby, but he had also felt it between Hollis and his team, he had just chalked it up to her being new around the team, and not having found her place. He never dreamed in a million years that Abby, his Abby, had actually been in love with him. He looked at Tony, waiting for him to crack a smile and say he was joking, but Tony just stared ahead at him, not even touching the beer.

When Tony didn't say anything, Gibbs mumbled a thank you, picked up the file and walked out, leaving his beer on the table. Tony sighed and leaned back in his chair. He hoped he had done the right thing.

---

Abby lay tangled in the wires under her desk. She heard the doors of her lab _whoosh_ open, and saw a pair of grey slacks approaching. "Geez Tony, I said I was leaving… I just need to tighten some connections down here because the monitor was a little static-y."

"I would say our connection must be a bit static-y if you think I'm DiNozzo, but I guess he's been around here a bit more than I have, so I guess it's my own fault."

Gibbs. Abby peeked out from under the desk and peered up into his blue eyes. He was crouching down, one hand on his knee the other keeping him steady by holding on to the desk. There were two ways she could play this out. The first would be to hug him tight and tell him how much she had missed him the past weeks, and the second…

"Hey Gibbs." Abby pulled herself to her feet. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm meeting some people and I should've been there five minutes ago." Abby couldn't stop the words from falling from her mouth as she collected her things. "Tony stopped in before he left and I was leaving then, but that damn screen has been bothering me forever, and I just never got around to it, so I said 'enough is enough' and did it. And now look, I've got dust on my jeans. I think I need to have another chat with the janitor, he's got to vacuum under my desk." Abby was nearly to the elevator before she stopped rambling.

Gibbs watched silently from her lab.

_-----------------_

_TBC…. Still a twist or two to come…_

_Review, pls._


	7. Chapter 6

_A little ooc… sorry. But I hope you still enjoy!_

----

"_Gibbs, that guy that Abby was talking about… the reason she's been so miserable lately, it's you. She'll kill me for saying this, but I've got to say it. She's in love with you, boss."_

How could that be true? They had always flirted, but she had never made a move beyond that. Not that he had tried, but he had watched for some sort of sign that she wanted him. But after comparing himself to the men that she dated, he had thought it was apparent he wasn't her type.

He leaned against the frame of his boat, letting it support him as he thought. If it was really true, if Abby really did love him, should he do something about it? He was in a relationship with Hollis, and they complimented each other nicely. She wasn't too clingy, and had her own schedule, unlike ex-wife number one. She didn't call to check on him every twenty minutes, and knew that spending time on his boat is what kept him sane after a long day at work, unlike ex-wife number two. He wondered if he should give up what he had with Hollis for a chance with Abby. What if he and Abby didn't work out? He didn't want to risk losing her friendship, although when he thought over the past few weeks, there wasn't much of a friendship to speak of. Work had kept them busy, and their interaction had been simple and professional.

In some ways it did make sense though, the way Abby's behavior had changed. She had never been the most stable person, but her erratic behavior was even more so than usual. The tequila, the random dates, missing practice at the batting cages; he had checked, her recertification had only been the day of the game, nothing had been scheduled for the dates they had met to practice. It all seemed to have started when Hollis had first come around.

It sounded simple: He loved Abby, Abby loved him. He wanted to drop everything and go to her, but as simple as it sounded, it wasn't. He needed time to think; to process.

Gibbs heard the stairs creak and he grimaced. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. He hoped that his rigid stance would clue her in to the fact that he wanted, no needed, to be alone but the touch of her hand on his shoulder proved otherwise.

"Something bothering you, Jethro?"

"Just got a lot on my mind, Hol."

"Something I can help you with?" She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged herself to him tightly.

"No. It's a personal struggle."

"Oh. Well, let's go upstairs. Put your mind at rest for awhile." Her fingers pulled the fabric of his polo shirt down enough so she could kiss the hollow of his neck.

"Not now, Hollis." He tried to move away, but she clung to him tightly.

"Come on, Jethro." She kissed up his neck and then along his jaw until she found his lips. "Let's go upstairs."

With thoughts of Abby in his mind, Gibbs allowed her to take his hand and pull him towards the stairs. Hollis did most of the work that night. Gibbs felt little comfort in his release and was relieved when he heard Hollis' breath slow to a regulated pace indicating sleep.

---

McGee had dreaded being the one to inform Abby of her lab supervisor for the case, so when he returned to her lab a few hours later, he was surprised to find her chatting happily with him.

Gibbs was a few steps behind, and he too was shocked to see them laughing over, what they called the element song.

"So, does this song mean anything?" Hollis questioned. Her voice was firm; she wasn't sure why she had gone with to the lab. It was Abby's territory.

"Abby's going find out." Gibbs told her softly.

Abby missed the way Gibbs looked at her; she was too busy having fun with Fred. It was a nice change of pace from the stress she had felt at work lately. "Yes, because neither rain nor sleet nor any class of simple atomic substances will keep me from my appointed duty, sir."

Gibbs watched Abby turn to Fred and they did some sort of secret handshake. "_Schweet!_"

_This_, Gibbs thought, _is not normal Abby behavior._ Abby willfully, hell even energetically working with an assistant is something he thought he would see when hell froze over. He had it up there with Tony swearing off women, and Ziva crying over a romantic film. He watched curiously as Abby made joke after joke with Fred. He hoped Hollis had been listening, because he had missed the stuff Abby had said while he concentrated on her actions.

Seeing Abby cheerful and happy with Fred stung a bit. It wasn't that he wanted her to sit and mope over him, but if she was getting over her feelings for him, maybe it would be for the best, for Abby, if he stayed with Hollis.

---

Cynthia wasn't at her desk when Abby made her way towards the director's office. She had been spending more time lately with Jenny, she hadn't fully admitted to feelings for Gibbs, but they bonded over their mutual dislike of Hollis Mann. Jen knew that there could never again be something between her and Jethro, but there was something so smug about Hollis, that just went right to her nerves.

Abby pushed the door to the office open to find a beautiful redhead sitting opposite the director.

"Jethro shouldn't be leading this case."

"He's not, colonel Mann is…" Both women looked at Abby as she walked in.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Cynthia wasn't outside and I just… I…"

"It's ok, Abby. Come in." Jenny looked back at Stephanie. "Did you pick up that look from Gibbs?"

Abby's eyes widened and a small smile formed on her lips. "Oh, so you're Stephanie. I heard you were part of this case. I'm Abby. And yeah, that's a 'Gibbs' look if I ever saw one." Jen fought a laugh at Abby's straightforwardness.

---

Tony and Ziva were first to notice Director Shepard, Stephanie and Abby coming down the stairs. "Uh oh, train wreck. I want to look away but I can't. It's his ex-wife, his ex-lover, his current girl friend, and the woman who probably loves him more than the other three combined. This is better than HBO."

"I smell blood." Ziva added.

"No doubt, Ziva. No doubt."

Hollis heard voices and turned to see the women on their way down.

"Agent Gibbs..." Jenny started. "Colonel… I was just assuring Gibbs'… your witness that agent Gibbs could separate himself from the personal aspects of the investigation."

"Well, I'll monitor him. Closely, director."

"I'm sure you will." It took all the strength Jen had not to roll her eyes. She was fairly sure Abby had rolled her eyes for the both of them

Gibbs looked away and shifted uncomfortably.

"Is that the look you're talking about?" Stephanie pointed out.

"Yeah, that's it." Abby piped in.

"We've all seen that look before" Hollis added. Abby shot Hollis a look. _Who invited you into this conversation?_

---

Abby felt like she was dealing with Chip the lab-assistant from hell all over again as she rushed back to her lab followed closely by Hollis and Gibbs.

"He erased the hard drives!"

"You left the lab un-attended, Abby." Fred said simply.

"Can I hit him, Gibbs?" Abby glared at Fred as he pushed past her.

"No."

Abby grabbed the phone from his belt. "Last number dialed was my lab. Last e-mail was a confirmed flight on Thai Air. Why did you erase the hard drive?"

"I didn't."

"This deals with classified information. Did you find a foreign buyer?"

Abby listened to one excuse after another. "How about now, can I hit him now?"

"You think Reynolds could've set up that computer code?"

Abby hated to answer to Hollis, especially in the middle of their own war, but the one thing that people did not mess with was her forensics, so right now Fred was a bigger enemy than Hollis; barely. "Only an expert could've done it."

"Reynolds had access and you knew how to steal it." Gibbs added.

"We going to find some money stashed away?"

"No." By now they were in the squad room, McGee was feverishly tracked the money trail. Tony blocked Fred's path as he headed for the elevator.

"I got him, Boss!" Abby heard McGee call out.

"My acting Boss…" Tony looked at Hollis. "…says you aren't going anywhere." Tony said, pushing Fred out of the elevator.

"Who'd you sell it too?" Gibbs got in his face.

"Maybe if you cut me a deal… I'll tell you."

Gibbs turned towards interrogation. "Abby?"

Abby had hardly heard the first syllable of her name, when her fist flew from her side to Fred's nose. The crunch was sickening and everyone's eyes widened when blood gushed from his face.

Hollis let out a slight gasp, and reflexively put her hand on Abby's shoulder. She knew that she was fighting for Jethro's attention, but first and foremost they were working this case. "Wow, Abby…"

Abby shrugged her off angrily. "Don't touch me." She turned on her heel and headed towards the back steps. Gibbs heard the commotion and returned to try and stop her from leaving, but she shrugged off his attempt as well.

Ziva looked to Tony and then to McGee. "What just happened here?"

Tony had a hard time taking his eyes off the blood seeping through Fred's fingers as he held his hand to his nose. "Yeah, I'm not really sure."

---

Abby was exhausted as she took the stairs up to her apartment. She fit the key into the lock and opened the door. She shut the door behind her and kicked off her shoes as she flipped the flipped on the main light.

"Abby."

Hearing her name, Abby jerked backwards, immediately regretting that she had already pulled the door shut. "Fornell!"

"I didn't mean to frighten you." Fornell stood and stepped towards her.

Abby side-stepped Fornell and plopped down on an overstuffed chair in an attempt to slow her heart-rate and regain her composure. "What part of sneaking into my apartment did you think wouldn't freak me out?"

"There was no other way to talk to you without people seeing."

"Have you heard of a phone call?"

"Phone calls can be traced."

Abby sat up a little straighter. "What are you getting at? Are you on the run?"

"No, I'm not on the run, but we've got a problem."

"_We've_ got a problem?"

"Do you remember the Johnson case?"

"Wasn't that like seven years ago?"

"Yes, Steve Johnson, he killed his wife after she got in the middle of a drug deal gone badly. We couldn't prove that her death was on purpose, but your forensics put him away for the drugs. He received 15 years, but he rolled on his dealers and with good behavior he's getting out in a few weeks."

"You think he'll come after me?"

"He already has."

"But he isn't out yet."

"He was looking for a contract killer, and luckily the one that he heard about happened to be one of our under-cover FBI agents. He wants to have you taken out before he gets out of prison so that he can't be blamed."

Abby jumped up from her seat. "Are you telling me someone is out there with a photo of me, and a gun?"

"Technically yes, but he's FBI. I need you to sit down and listen. We've got a plan."

Abby sat back down and nodded. "Basically, we want to act out your death, we could bust him now, but the case is ten-times stronger and he would be more likely to get life if the money exchanges hands. Unfortunately, he refuses to pay up until after you've been, and I know this may sound harsh, but taken care of."

"So what is your plan?"

"To shoot you."

"Excuse me?"

"If we can play out your death, and get him to pay up, we can put him away for good, and not have worry about it ever again. I was talking with our undercover guy and we came up with a plan. First, over the next week and a half we'll get Ducky to draw blood from you. When we've planned out for when you'll get shot, you'll wear a bullet proof vest, with the pouch of your own blood on the outside. If you wear a sweater, nothing will show. We'll plan out where you'll go, and we'll have our shooter waiting for you. Basically he'll shoot you, in the vest, hitting the pouch. I'll be just around the corner so I can be the first person there. You'll fall to the ground, and I'll declare you dead. The FBI truck will be first on the scene, we'll take few photos of you on the ground, load you into a body bag and drive you away. NCIS will fight for the crime scene…."

"What do you mean, fight for the scene?"

"Oh, one little side note. Aside from Ducky, because we need him to draw blood, everyone else needs to think you died. He will be watching for NCIS's reaction so it needs to be real."

"No. I can't put them through that."

"It'll be for two, maybe three days at the most. Would you rather break their hearts for three days, or get killed for real when he finds out it was fake and he hires someone else to kill you, someone that won't fail."

Abby thought for a moment. "Can we at least tell Gibbs?"

"No, I know he'll be livid when he does find out, but I can live with that. Trust me, he'll realize that you were doing the right thing."

"Just Gibbs, we don't have to tell the others, he can act…" Abby looked away "He's with Mann, he must be a good actor."

"What was that? I take it you aren't a fan of Hollis? She's a bit over-confident for my taste. Wait a minute, are you telling me you're jealous?"

Abby ignored his question. "I'll have lost him for good." Then she changed the subject. "They'll want to see my body."

"We can fight them off for a few days, and by the time they are able to get the case awarded back to them we'll fill them in and it'll all be over. Abby, you've got no other choice." Fornell watched a stray tear roll down Abby's cheek.

"What about my parents?"

"We will have them 'unreachable'. They'll never have to know about this."

"Fine, I'll do it, on one condition."

"What?"

"I don't want Ducky involved. Gibbs is going to be angry, and when he finds out that Ducky knew and didn't tell him… No, I can't put Ducky in that position."

"I can respect that. We'll work with the one of the FBI ME's then to draw blood. I just thought it would be nice for you to have someone else you can tell."

"I want that person to be Gibbs, but if it can't be, then…" Abby shook her head. "No."

"Ok, well I'll call our ME Melissa and fill her in. I will send her over to draw the first bit of blood in a few hours. She'll be visiting every three days or so, we need enough blood to make it believable." Abby just nodded and walked to the door. She opened it for Fornell, and avoided his gaze as he walked past. "I'll be in touch, Abby. Remember, not a word."

By the time she made it to her kitchen to set the kettle to boil water for a cup of tea, Abby was shaking. She was playing with fire, and she had a nasty habit of getting burned. Replaying the plan in her mind over and over again, she knew it was a bad idea. With what Gibbs had gone through, loosing Shannon and Kelly, and then Kate… she knew he hadn't been romantically involved with Kate, but he had still been hit hard by the loss. She wasn't going to compare herself to Shannon and Kelly, but she knew that Gibbs cared about her, even with Hollis in his life, and her death would be hard on him and the rest of the team, especially Tony.

Abby was still lost in her thoughts when the doorbell ringed. She looked out the peep hole and saw a woman she recognized at the FBI ME. She didn't really know her, but she had seen her once or twice before when NCIS and the FBI had butted heads over a case.

"Hi, I'm Melissa DuPont" She help up identification. "Agent Fornell sent me over…"

"Yeah, I know. Come on in."

It only took about a half an hour for Melissa to set up and draw the blood. Getting blood drawn made Abby a bit squirmy. It wasn't the needle, but rather seeing 'life' draining from her body. She had seen plenty of dead people and even more blood in her life, but still, to see if coming from her body freaked her out a bit.

---

With regular appointments with Melissa, Abby started making up excuses to leave early; a date, the dentist, picking up groceries for her elderly next-door neighbor. She also started wearing long-sleeves on a daily basis to cover the bruising of her fair skin where she was poked over and over for blood.

She could tell Gibbs was getting worried. She tried to play up the idea of dates. Making up random facts about random men; Mark, Michael and Sean. When Tony questioned her motives for her sudden slew of dates, she said she was trying to move on. He didn't like her reasoning, nor did he believe it, but since Gibbs had made no show of his own feelings, he figured it would be for the best.

_------------------_

_TBC…_

_Ok, I know… completely out of character for Abby to do this behind Gibbs' back. BUT, it's my story, so she is… sad, yes, I think so._

_Review?_


	8. Chapter 7

_Thanks for all the wonderful reviews/comments – I absolutely enjoy reading each and everyone and try to respond to everyone (I apologize if I have missed you). I hope you continue to enjoy…_

-----

"Jethro! I've been looking all over for you."

"What do you need, Duck?"

"I've just noticed that the team seems a little stressed lately, so I thought I would host a little poker night for everyone to get their minds off work. I'd like you to come. It's tonight at eight. Mother is out of the house, so no distractions."

Gibbs sighed. He didn't feel much like socializing with anyone lately. His mind had been an absolute mess ever since Tony had told him about Abby. He still wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Abby had avoided any situation where they were alone for more than a few minutes. He didn't think she knew that he knew, but it was likely because Hollis was everywhere that he was, and now he understood why she disliked Hollis so much. "Alright, Duck. I guess a little distraction would be nice."

"Wonderful. I've already spoken to everyone else. McGee can't make it, but Hollis will be joining us."

"You've already asked Hollis?" Gibbs hoped that Ducky didn't pick up on the disappointment in his voice. He would have liked some time with just his team, well Abby, without Hollis around.

"Oh yes, she said she loved poker. It should be an exciting night!"

---

Gibbs offered to pick up Abby on the way to the poker game, but she declined. She explained that she was leaving with Ducky, they were going to grab an early dinner and then Abby was going to help him set up and prepare snacks.

Everyone one but Hollis had arrived before Gibbs. Abby was carrying a tray of pretzels from the kitchen to the living room where Ducky had set the table for the game.

"Pretzel, bossman?"

"Sure." Gibbs took a few pretzels and watched her as she walked away to set the tray down.

Once Hollis arrived they all moved to the table and took a seat. Abby sat across from Gibbs and next to Ziva. Normally she would place herself next to Tony, but he had a tendency of trying to peek at other people's cards. She didn't want to risk it.

During the first few rounds everyone was reserved in their betting, but as wordless challenges were sent across the table, and competition picked up, more and more money was laid on the table.

Palmer started and placed a $20 on the table. He was tired of the small games, one dollar here, two dollars there; no one was really gaining or losing much cash. It was getting boring. Ducky caught on and called, placing another $20 on the first. The $20 bets continued around the table.

Tony was the first to fold, he groaned when he saw his 2 and 7. After that, he decided that he couldn't play anymore. He had had zero luck, and decided to watch instead. Palmer and Ducky bowed out the next round. Ducky shared some anecdote about the younger agents being 'too rich' for his blood. Ziva hung on a little longer, but soon the heat between Abby and Hollis was more entertaining than actually playing. Gibbs watched Abby and Hollis as they eyed each other across the table. If the competition hadn't involved him, he would've found it amusing. Gibbs decided to sit out, Hollis and Abby refused to take their eyes off one another, only doing so to look at the cards laid out; a four of clubs, a king of spades, four of hearts, eight of spades and seven of spades.

Abby considered herself to be the queen of the poker face. Deciding that it was getting late, Abby pushed all her winnings to the center of the table.

Hollis counted all that she had, but came up short.

"You going to fold?" Abby ask coolly.

Hollis thought for a moment before eyeing her watch. "Will you accept it?"

Abby shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Hollis laid her watch on the pile.

Tony thought his heart was going to stop. The amount of tension in the room was nearly unbearable, it was like a scene out of a movie – he just couldn't pin-point the title. His eyes darted to Ziva and she acknowledged his look. They both looked to Gibbs, silently wishing he would intervene.

"They say age before beauty, so feel free to show your cards." Even Ducky couldn't help but notice the sting in Abby's voice. Hollis kept her eyes trained on Abby as she lay down an ace and a nine of spades. "Ace-high flush."

Abby shifted uncomfortably, and Tony swore he could sense a car wreck about to happen. "Nice…" Abby prayed her face didn't betray her. "But not nice enough. Full house. Kings full of fours." Abby's face was made of stone as she lay out her king of hearts and king of diamonds.

Hollis paled.

"Damn." Everyone turned to look at Tony. "What?"

Hollis scooted back her chair, grabbed her purse and left.

Abby grinned as she pulled her winnings towards her. "Who wants to play again?"

Everyone laughed and shook their heads no. "You've won enough for one night, my dear." Ducky raised his glass.

"How did you get so good at poker, Abby?" Tony asked; his voice full of awe.

"I've had a lot of time to think lately." She paused. "I didn't like it, so I started to play a little poker online to pass the time. Not for real money, just pretend, you know just to flex the poker skills."

"Think…?" Gibbs leaned forward a bit.

"Yeah, think." Abby saw where the conversation was headed so she changed the subject the only way she could think of. "Aren't you going to go after her, Gibbs? She looked a bit upset."

"She'll be fine, Abby."

"I'm just saying…" Abby folded the cash and slid it into her pocket. She picked up Hollis' watch and looked it over before putting it in her pocket along with the cash. "I should get going. I've got a hard-core boss who hates it when I'm late, and I've got to stop by the bank before work." Abby winked at Gibbs and he couldn't help but laugh at the dripping sarcasm in her voice.

"I'll walk you to your car."

Abby pulled her coat off the back of her chair and made her way around the table hugging everyone goodnight and then waited as Gibbs stood to chat a brief moment with Ducky. Ducky walked them both to the front door.

"Bye Ducky." Abby enveloped him in one more hug and then started towards her car, Gibbs at her side. He struggled with formulating a question; there were many he wanted to ask.

"Abby… you need to tell me what is bothering you."

Abby's eyes betrayed her words. "Nothing is bothering me, Gibbs. I just won a fair amount of cash. I just might have to take a shopping trip. Oh, but here… before I forget…" Abby pulled Hollis' watch from her pocket. "You can give her this back. It's not my style."As much as Abby disliked the woman, she didn't think it was fair to keep her watch, it was obviously worth more than your average watch, but it wasn't exactly Abby's style. She'd never wear it, if she did she'd only think of what Hollis had that she didn't; Gibbs. She had contemplated giving it back before Hollis had left the night before, but she decided to let her sweat a bit first.

"Abby, you are avoiding my question. Talk to me."

"If anything is bothering me, it's nothing that a little shopping spree won't cure. I already told you, no crazy ex's. You'd be the first to know."

"You haven't been yourself. You need to tell me why. I'm worried. Talk to me, Abbs." Gibbs cupped her face in his hands. He still wasn't completely convinced that Tony was right, although he could tell that she didn't get along with Hollis there wasn't any hint of deeper feelings for him.

Abby swallowed against the lump in her throat. She was seconds from spilling everything to him. _Those damn eyes_.

Abby stepped away from Gibbs and opened her car. "I don't want to talk about it Gibbs. Not now. I promised you that I'm ok, and I am. We'll talk, but I need a few days… to think things through." She had the feeling her upcoming death act would change their relationship. She didn't need to burden him with petty things like her feelings and then go off and pretend to die.

"A few days, Abby, that's it. I'm not letting this go."

Abby looked at him sadly as she shut the door and started her car. "I know."

---

"Abby…? Can we chat?" It was just before lunch on Wednesday, and Gibbs had been thinking more and more about his feelings for Hollis and his feelings for Abby. Abby hadn't given him much opportunity for them to talk privately, and he was starting to get worried. Ever since Tony had clued him in on Abby's true feelings, he had more clearly noticed that Abby had been a mess of emotions. But the past two weeks she had been leaving earlier than normal, claiming to have a date, or an appointment. He also noticed that she had switched to always wearing long-sleeves, always having her arms covered and it worried him. Poker night had been the last straw.

He still had to deal with his feelings and figure out what exactly he needed to do. His mind was a mess. But in putting together the pieces of her recent behavior as well as the description of the guys Tony had said she had talked about seeing. He was worried that Abby, in attempt to move on, was getting involved with some shady characters.

Abby saw a look of concern on his face her heart melted. Of all the times for him to come and seek her out to talk (again) and she had to leave. This time, it wasn't a fake date. "Gibbs. I would love to chat, but I'm meeting someone for lunch."

"Abby, you said…"

"I know, but honestly, I can't blow this lunch off."

"Ok, well when you get back?"

_Oh God, when I get back. Sure, when I 'get back' a few days from now_. Abby sighed. "Yeah, we'll talk, when I get back." She forced a weak smile. She grabbed her purse and turned towards the elevator.

She stopped in front of Gibbs. Standing on tip-toes she pressed her cheek to his and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "I'll always come back, Gibbs, no matter what. Trust me." Abby didn't stay long enough to see the look of confusion cross his face. Inside the elevator she touched her hand to her cheek and struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

The soft touch of her cheek and the way she held him tight clued him in to all he needed to know. She loved him. _She's not leaving the building tonight until we settle everything._ Gibbs ran a hand through his hair and headed back to the bullpen.

Out front Abby caught a cab downtown and made her way to the back of a small café where Melissa was waiting, a large shopping bag in her hands. Abby took the bag and disappeared into the bathroom. Inside the bathroom she took off her sweatshirt and pulled the bullet proof vest on over a tank top. Attached the vest was a rather large bag of her own blood.

She felt nauseous.

Once the vest was securely fastened Abby pulled the bulky sweater back over her head and straightened out her bangs. Melissa was waiting outside, a coffee in her hand. They exchanged the coffee for the shopping bag and Abby exited the café.

Abby looked both ways down the street and then turned north. She had to walk three blocks, and then turn right. They wanted to do this on a bit of a quieter street, the gun shot would still be heard and she would be seen going down, but they knew that a hit wasn't as likely to occur on a super busy street. Too many people would possibly see the shooter. Her boots fell like they were weighted down with lead the further she walked. She got to the point where she was supposed to turn, and she paused. She looked around. Diagonally across the street she saw Fornell in a toy store, his daughter Emily with him. It was his normal day off, and it would be more believable that he just happened to be in the area if he had his daughter with him. Melissa was walking down the street, and would watch Emily when Fornell 'discovered' Abby. Fornell gave her a slight nod and she took a deep breath. She trembled slightly as she turned the corner. She walked slowly and saw a small flash of light. Fornell's sniper said he would give her a ten second warning by using a small mirror to reflect the sunlight at her.

Abby clenched her fists in a tight ball and paused to look in a shop window. Her front was facing towards where the flash had come from. She saw a small red dot appear on her chest. She counted slowly but only made it to seven before she hear the gun shot and felt the searing pain in her chest. _Damn_. She didn't expect it to hurt so much. The force knocked the breath from her lungs and she slowly dropped to her knees. She looked down to see blood seeping through her sweater. She heard shouts from behind her and she continued to drop face down to the pavement. Someone touched her back and she willed them to go away.

Within moments she heard Fornell's voice. "Stand back, I'm FBI." He pulled out his phone and made the call before pressing his fingers to Abby's neck and declaring her dead. He shielded her face as best he could from the prying eyes of the public that gathered. The FBI ME truck arrived shortly. One of Fornell's agents took a few photos of Abby lying lifeless on the cement. She kept her eyes clenched shut as they rolled her over and put her in a body bag. Fornell zipped it up, leaving a few inches open on the top. She felt herself being lifted onto a stretcher and then wheeling towards the truck. The moment the truck doors shut behind her, Abby stuck her fingers out through the opening at the top of the bag and she pulled the zipper down. Abby sat up crying and choking as she gasped for air through her sobs. She sat alone in the back of the truck on the drive back to the FBI head quarters. Safely inside FBI head quarters, Fornell opened the ME truck and helped Abby out.

"Are you ok?"

Abby slapped him across the face. "How can you ask me that?"

Fornell touched his cheek where she had slapped him. "I'm sorry. Melissa with help you get cleaned up."

---

Normally when a case involved the loss of another agency's team member, the director of the one agency would contact the other director and then leave it to the director to inform her agents.

Tony was the first to see Fornell step off the elevator. He never looked happy, but something about the way he walked struck Tony as odd. "Uh, Boss… you've got company."

Gibbs looked up and saw a poignant looking Fornell standing in front of his desk. "My office?"

Fornell sighed. "No, let's step over here though."

Gibbs followed Fornell away from the desks. "Is everything ok? It is Emily?"

"Emily is fine… I'm not here about me. I'm here about you."

"About me? Tobias, quit playing games and spit it out."

"There was a shooting this afternoon downtown…"

"And…? Still waiting to hear what this has to do with me. If you think I did it, you can ask my team. We've all been here working through lunch. I left Abby's lab at…" Gibbs trailed off at the look on Fornell's face. "Abby?"

Fornell gave a slight nod.

"NO!" Gibbs threw a punch at the wall and then fell against it.

Tony couldn't see the two men, but heard Gibbs cried out. All three agents were on their feet and peered around the corner. Tony was sure he had to be dreaming. Never did he think he would see his boss in a crumpled pile on the floor, his chest heaving, fists balled tightly as he cried. Tony, McGee and Ziva stood silently, watching, trying to process the scene in front of them.

"Miss. Scuito was shot downtown this afternoon. I'm sorry." Fornell stepped past them towards the elevator.

Tony and McGee stood staring blankly ahead, so Ziva reached out and grabbed Fornell. "Where is she?"

"The FBI morgue."

Gibbs had managed to pull himself to his feet and step away from the wall. "We're taking over."

"No Jethro, this is an FBI case."

"She's one of ours, we'll take the case."

"I'm sorry, but this is FBI. We…"

"You know who did this, don't you?"

"We have an idea, based on a previous case."

"Why Abby?" Gibbs pleaded. He needed answers.

"Jethro, I can't go over all this with you. Go home, get some rest. When I can fill you in, I will."

Ziva listened to the exchange. She had grabbed Tony's hand and he squeezed hers tightly. Something about the way Fornell explained everything struck Ziva as odd. They watched Fornell leave and then turned back to Gibbs.

With tears in his eyes, Gibbs instructed McGee to tell Ducky and Tony to tell the director. "… and Ziva, we're headed to the crime scene. We're going to get as much info as we can."

---

The crime scene was still taped off and Fornell's agents were busy _investigating_ the crime scene as if it was real. Gibbs and Ziva flashed their badges and stepped past the FBI tape.

Gibbs stopped when he saw the large blood stain on the sidewalk_. "I'll always come back, Gibbs, no matter what. Trust me." _And trust her he had, yet here was her blood covering the sidewalk like a coat of red paint. Ziva knelt by the stain and brought out a swab. One of the agents walked past Gibbs, holding a camera. Stopping him, Gibbs demanded to see the photos. He flipped through, until he got to the photo of Abby laying face down in a puddle of her own blood. His stomach turned and he thrust the camera back at the agent and ran to the nearest garbage can, emptying his stomach contents violently.

Ziva stood behind her boss and waited until he was done. "Come, let's go. There is nothing more we can do here."

---

Back in the squad room, the team was gathered up in the Directors office. They sat around silently not making eye contact, dabbing at their eyes with tissue. They all looked up when Gibbs and Ziva arrived.

Jenny stood and looked at Ziva. "I want you to take them home." She pointed to Tony and McGee. "And Ducky if you could please take Jethro home, he shouldn't be alone."

"Jen, I'll be ok."

"It wasn't up for discussion. Home, now." Her voice wavered.

"And what about you, what will you do?"

Jen straightened her jacket. She needed to be the director of her agency right now, she could mourn as a friend later. "I'll be fighting the FBI for the case. I will let you know the minute anything changes, until then, go home. It's an order.

Ziva knew why she had been instructed to keep an eye on both McGee and Tony. Her first instinct was to think that Jenny thought she was too cold to have real feelings, and be upset about Abby, but in reality it was that she was better able to deal with her feelings. McGee had once been in love with Abby, and was a softie at heart; he would need her help not to slip into a depressive state. And as far as Tony, Abby had been his best friend. He had been close to Kate as well, and Ziva remembered what he had been going through when she had arrived, shortly after Kate had died.

Ducky nodded and picked up his hat. "Come on, Jethro. Let's get you home."

---

Gibbs watched the world pass by as Dr. Mallard drove him home.

Once inside, Ducky's first move was the make some coffee. He watched Gibbs sitting quietly at the dining table, his face covered by his hands. As Ducky poured the coffee grounds into the coffee maker he heard the front door, and the sound of Hollis' voice carried through the hallway.

Hollis walked over to Gibbs a knelt beside him. "I'm so sorry. I know she was special to you."

Gibbs shrugged her hand off his shoulder and looked up at Ducky, mentally begging him to ask her to leave.

"I'm sorry, but I think he'd be better off if you came back another time." Ducky set a napkin in front of Gibbs and then an empty coffee mug.

"Oh, I… I just thought, maybe he should be around the person he loves."

Ducky turned her back towards the door and handed her the coat she had hung on her way in. "I'll have him call you when he's ready to talk. Don't take it personally." Ducky gave her a gentle shove out the door, and returned to the coffee machine as it dropped the last few drops of coffee in to the pot. He poured the hot beverage into Gibbs mug before pouring a mug for himself. He was more of a tea person, but at this point, it didn't really matter.

Ducky sat opposite his friend.

"She loved me, Duck."

"Of course she did, Jethro. That woman was full of love. She had the amazing ability to look past a person's flaws and… oh, you mean she _loved_ you?"

"Yes. I spent so much time trying not to love her because I didn't think she would feel the same, and then Hollis came into my life, and I like her, but… it's not the same. Then I find out from Tony that the reason Abby hasn't been herself lately it because she was upset about me and Hollis… I should've gone right to her, but instead I've been trying to think things through." He looked up at Ducky. "She died not knowing that I love her."

Ducky patted his hand and watched him cry. "She knew."

---

Neither McGee nor Tony fought Ziva for the keys. She drove them to Tony's house and called for Sarah McGee who drove over to pick up her brother.

Ziva fixed Tony and herself each a cup of tea, pouring a generous amount of whiskey in Tony's. She had no intention of getting him drunk, but she knew the alcohol would take the edge off.

"She can't be gone, Ziva."

"She is Tony." Ziva struggled with her own tears.

"No. She can't be." He yelled. "She was in her lab this morning. We just played poker a few nights ago. She's in love with our _boss_, Ziva. She cannot be gone!" Tony turned to look at Ziva; his eyes were red and were pleading for her to tell him that she was ok.

Ziva wanted to tell him that everything would be ok, but she couldn't. She knew that Abby and Tony had played a major part in each other's lives, not as lovers, but as friends; family.

"She didn't know…"

"She didn't know what?"

"That he loved her. It was the one thing that she would've given anything for."

"What do you mean?"

"Gibbs. He loves… loved her."

"Did he tell you that?"

"Of course not, but I told him about Abby. There was no way around it. You should've seen the look on his face. It was in his eyes, I know it. She would've given anything to know that he felt the same way about her."

"When did you tell him?"

"After the baseball game… oh God, he's know for that long and never said anything. How could he do that to her, he's just been sitting on that information while she was out with random guys trying to make herself feel better He could've told her, he had plenty of time!"

"Tony." Ziva set her tea down and touched her hand to his knee. "You can't get mad at Gibbs, it won't help anything, it won't make you feel any better."

---

Abby paced the empty office at the FBI. They had set up an air mattress and a small TV. Melissa provided a stack of magazines, but they sat untouched on the desk in the corner. She was miserable. She knew her friends were hurting, she could feel it and it made her physically ill.

She had asked for access to a computer, but her request had been denied. She promised not to send an e-mail, but even if she just checked her account, it would be traceable. The room she was in was up on the eighth floor, and she passed her time sitting by the window, watching the world pass by below.

"Abby?"

"You bust him yet?"

"No, we've got a slight problem." Fornell shut the door behind him and sat down at the table near the window where Abby sat.

"A _problem_?" Abby hopped down and moved to sit at the table with him. "This whole situation is a _problem!_" She couldn't help but yell.

"He won't transfer the money for a few more days. We need to keep you in hiding an extra two days."

"No." She said with conviction.

"Abby, we can't blow this now."

"I don't care, you said two days, now you want to make it four? I don't think so. You better get him by tomorrow. Tomorrow I go back to NCIS."

"Wait just a minute…"

"No! You wait just a minute. Tomorrow you will drive me to NCIS, I'll stay hidden, but I'll stay at the Navy Yard. If you refuse, I'll leave and walk there in plain sight. Take your pick Fornell. Take your damn pick."

"Alright, tomorrow we'll go to NCIS."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

------------------

_TBC…_

_Review : )_


	9. Chapter 8

Gibbs opened his eyes and sat up. He was in his bed, but couldn't quite remember how he got there. He looked around, but saw no one. He steadied himself on his feet, wondering what had caused the massive headache he felt. He took the stairs down to the kitchen to grab an aspirin; he caught sight of a team photo that Abby had placed in on the window sill, and suddenly the memory of the day before flooded back to him. He grabbed for his cell phone which lay on the counter before sliding to the ground to sit with his back against the wall. He flipped his phone open and held down the number two to activate speed dial, and then lifted the phone to his ear.

The phone rang and rang until finally… "Hey, you've reached Abby! I can't answer my phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you A.S.A.P. I pinkie swear!" Gibbs let the phone drop to the ground and dropped his head to his hands.

_This can't be happening, not again._

He picked up the phone again, this time dialing Hollis. She said she would be over in ten minutes. He hung up and dialed again. "Hey, you've reached Abby…" He pressed the red button to hang up before holding his finger on the 'two' button again. "Hey, you've reached Abby! I can't answer my phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you A.S.A.P. I pinkie swear!"

Gibbs continued the cycle of calling, hanging up and calling again until Hollis knocked softly and let herself in. "Oh Jethro." She took the phone from his hands and saw the last twelve calls made were to Abby's cell. She pulled him to his feet. When she stood she looked up and saw the pain in his eyes. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't. She closed her eyes and stood on her toes to kiss him. She wasn't expecting a response, but didn't stop it when it happened. Next thing she knew they were up in his bedroom, their clothes strewn across the floor. There was no love in their movements; it was about the release, plain and simple. Hollis drifted off, but woke twenty minutes later.

"Jethro?" She sat up and placed a hand on his shoulder. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his face cradled in his hands.

Gibbs shifted away from her touch. "I loved her, Hollis. I really loved her."

"And you never loved me…" She waited for a response. When she got none, it was just as much an answer as if he had spoken.

Hollis sighed and pulled her hand away. She wrapped the sheet around her and got up. She picked up her clothes from the floor and went to the bathroom to dress. She didn't say goodbye when she left.

---

Abby watched her phone light up. She picked it up and her heart broke when she saw Gibbs name pop up on caller I.D., she could only imagine what he was going through. She wondered if Hollis was with him. She set the phone back down when it stopped ringing and started pacing again.

The second, third and fourth time her phone rang she tried to ignore it. The fifth time she brought it to Fornell and asked him to hold it. If she heard it ring one more time she knew she would answer.

---

Jenny looked out at Agent Gibbs' team in the squad room. They sat at their desks, not really doing much, not talking, not… anything. She had given them the rest of the week off, promising to contact them if and when she was able to get the case handed over from the FBI, but she knew she'd find them at their desks the next morning, even with no cases.

She took the stairs slowly, she wasn't sure why Fornell was on his way over, it likely wasn't to hand over the case, but maybe he had found something and was willing to share the information, though that wasn't likely.

"Agent Gibbs, I need you and your team up in the conference room. Call Ducky and Palmer up as well."

McGee dialed autopsy.

Gibbs pushed himself up slowly and nodded for his agents to join him. They all took the stairs up to the conference room and sat down. A few moments later, Hollis entered. "What's this about Jen?"

"I'm not sure." Jenny motioned for Palmer and Ducky to enter and sit as well.

"What do you mean, you aren't sure?"

"I wasn't the one that called this meeting. Fornell did."

Gibbs sat back. "Well, where is he?"

"Relax Jethro, I'm here." Fornell stepped into the room and left the door slightly ajar. "I want you know that this isn't easy for me, and in no way was it to hurt you…"

"I heard this speech when you married my ex-wife, get to the point."

"Several years ago, Abby helped the FBI by doing forensics for a case against Steve Johnson. He killed his wife after she got in the middle of a drug deal, however with the lack of evidence we were only able to convict him on a drug crime. He received 15 years, but he rolled on his dealers and with good behavior he was granted parole, yesterday. A few weeks ago he sought out a contract-killer to go after the one person who had been able to put him away, Abby."

Gibbs shot up. "I want to see him. _Now_."

"Sit down and let me finish. Now, luckily for us, the killer-for-hire he contacted was an undercover FBI agent."

Fornell watched the looks of confusion on the faces of the people in front of him. None of them had quite caught on yet.

"We could've busted him for attempted murder, but it would only be based on what our agent said verses what Johnson would've said, we needed money to change hands in order for a water-tight case to send him back for life, no parole. Unfortunately, Johnson refused to pay up until Abby was dead, so when we shot her…"

"When you… _WHAT_?" Gibbs jumped out of his seat.

"Sit _down_, Jethro. I'm not finished."

Gibbs lowered slowly back into the chair. Hollis put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, but still, she couldn't help but feel used from the night before.

"We needed Abby to die to get this guy."

"You killed her!" Tony slammed his hand on the desk, and had Ziva not put her hand on his shoulder to keep him sitting, he would've flown across the table to strangle Fornell.

"No, we didn't."

"Then who the hell-" Tony started.

Suddenly everything clicked for Ziva. Fornell's odd behavior, the fact that the FBI agents at the crime scene had been more than willing to share the photos of Abby sprawled out on the sidewalk, their insistence on keeping the case to themselves. "She's not dead."

Everyone turned to look at Ziva.

Ziva stood and paced slowly behind her team members as she spoke. "When you came to tell us about Abby's death, you looked pained, but not sad. This is because you had to lie, yes? And then Gibbs and I went to the crime scene. I took a swab, it was her blood, but while I did that, Gibbs looked at the crime scene photos on the camera. The agent seemed more than willing to share, yet the photos hadn't even been uploaded to the computer yet. Gibbs could've deleted them. Tony won't even let McGee look at the camera until the photos have been saved, why would one of your men willingly handed his camera over?" By now Ziva's voice was raised, nearly to a level of shouting. "And that is why you kept her body hidden… there _is_ no body."

Ziva was around the table in a flash and had Fornell shoved against the wall, her knife uncomfortably close to his neck. "Where is she?"

Jenny was behind Ziva within mere seconds. "Calm down, Ziva… have a seat… come on."

Fornell side-stepped away from Ziva and brought his hand up to his neck, adjusting his tie. "Ziva is right."

"But all the blood…?" Gibbs could see the large blood stain, fresh in his mind. "There was so much blood, and we had it tested, it was Abby's."

"It was Abby's blood."

"You hurt her? Where is she Fornell?"

"We didn't hurt her, just a bruise from getting shot while wearing a bullet proof vest. We spent the last two weeks drawing small increments of blood from Abby's arm. We taped a pouch to the front of a bullet proof vest, our sniper hit the vest, thus the blood loss. She's fine. A little emotional, the reason she isn't in here now is because she's… well, she scared of your reaction. I told her to wait, that I would explain, and then bring her in. I want you to know that she wanted to tell you guys, especially you Jethro. She said you could fake the sorrow, but the FBI just couldn't risk it."

"Where is she?" Ziva was getting impatient.

Fornell stepped out of the room and they heard him open a door across the hall. Fornell stepped back into the room. He looked over the set of agents in front of him before looking back out the door and nodding.

---

Abby felt like she had to push her way into the room, the air was thick with tension. She looked around at the expression on everyone's face. She immediately felt tears well up in her eyes. She wasn't sure what she expected to happen, but to stand in front of everyone, their hard gazes locked on her, made her feel small.

"I'm so… sorry." Abby sobbed and fell to her knees. Fornell watched everyone in front of him. Gibbs was the first to stand. He had expected that, but what he didn't expect was for him to walk right by them and out the door. Hollis followed hastily.

Ziva was at her side quickly. "Abby, I am so happy you are safe." In a move uncharacteristic of Ziva, she wrapped her arms around Abby and held her tightly as she cried.

"I didn't want to do it… I… I was going to get killed… if I… didn't." Abby wept.

Tony stood, his eyes flaming with anger. He followed Gibbs' course of action and walked past Abby, leaving her on the floor. Ziva motioned for Jen to take her place in holding Abby, and ran after him.

Jen ran her hand along Abby's hair while she cried. As angry as she was at the whole situation, she didn't feel that blaming Abby was the best route. Granted, she should've come to her, Jenny would've put her under the best security detail, but she also knew that Fornell could be convincing, and since her life was threatened, she understood why she didn't go against his idea.

"Tony!" Ziva grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her. "Get back in there, right now. She's upset enough as it is. You are her best friend, she needs you."

"She faked her own death! She let us believe she was dead."

"I know, and it was painful. For all of us!" Ziva shouted at him "But I understand why she did it. I would have done the exact same thing if I had been in her position. You would've done the same too. Wouldn't you rather this version of the story, than her being found out and killed the second time around for real?"

"Ziva, I…"

"She's your best friend, Tony. She's on the floor, a broken mess. The one man she loves and walked out on her without saying a word, and then you did the same. She doesn't deserve that. If you want to be angry, be mad at Fornell, not Abby."

Tony sighed and Ziva felt the muscles in his arm relax. "You're right."

"Well..?" Ziva nodded towards the office.

Tony ran back to the conference room where Abby still sat on the floor, Jenny holding her hand as she cried. McGee, Ducky and Palmer had moved closer to help comfort her, and Fornell watched from the corner of the room. Tony glared at Fornell; he could deal with him later. Tony stood looking down at Abby. She noticed his shoes and slowly her eyes traveled up to meet his.

"Tony, I'm so… so sorry."

"None of that, there has been enough crying, just stand up. If your arms aren't wrapped around me in ten seconds I will have to hurt you." Tony gave a weak smile.

Abby wiped her eyes and with Jen's help was pulled to her feet. She hugged Tony intensely and cried against his chest.

Tony pulled her in and stroked her hair. "Oh Abby, I wish you would've told me, but I understand. I don't like it, but I understand."

---

"Jethro…"

"Get away from me. Get out of here."

"I didn't want it to happen this way, but it was for her safety."

"You know you should've told me. I would've kept her safe, Tobias. I would have kept her _safe_! Get out."

"I just thought you should know that we had planned to bring Ducky in on this, to draw her blood, but she knew how mad you would be and decided to take all of your anger and leave Ducky out of it. She said she knew she had lost you for good, she might as well take the burden." Fornell gave Hollis an unforgiving look. "Anyway, the payment from Johnson isn't expected for a day or two, Abby threatened to walk out if we didn't bring her here, but she isn't safe yet, so I spoke to Jenny. She'll stay in her office. I'm sorry Jethro, I really am."

"_You!_ You stay the hell away from me." Gibbs shoved Fornell towards the elevators.

---

Tony carried Abby into the Director's office and placed her down on the sofa. He could tell she hadn't slept much recently. She likely hadn't slept much before the incident, due to her issues with Hollis, but she obviously hadn't slept in the past two days. Abby protested, saying she wasn't ready to sleep; she wanted to spend the time with her friends, the ones that could stand to be around her at least. But her eyes were heavy, and her face was puffy from crying.

"No, you need sleep. I'm going to go to talk to Gibbs. Ducky will sit with you for a while, but you need to sleep." Tony tucked a blanket around her.

Abby nodded and then smiled when Ducky entered the office. He waited until the door shut behind Tony before pulling a chair up beside the couch where Abby lay.

"Ducky?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Will you hold my hand?"

"Of course." Ducky grabbed one of her hands and placed it on his knee, resting his warm hand over it.

"Oh _Abigail_, we were so heartbroken. Nothing would be the same around here without you. This whole situation has made everyone realize just how much we rely on you. Not just for your forensics, but for your smile, and your uplifting presence." Ducky leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on Abby's forehead.

"I've ruined Gibbs' life."

"Give him time, Abigail. He'll come around."

Unfortunately she didn't believe him. No, she had been quite certain that she had lost Gibbs for good. Not just the chance at a real relationship with him, but she had lost their close friendship as well. She would be lucky if he would agree to even continue to work with her, let alone trust her. He would send McGee or Tony for results, he would avoid her lab, and never again would a Caf-Pow magically appear in her refrigerator. He would no longer stop by the lab and say 'Hey Abbs', and his warm hugs and soft kisses on her cheek were gone forever.

Abby finally fell into a fitful sleep.

---

Gibb's watched Tony make his way down the steps.

"Boss…"

"I don't want to hear it DiNozzo. I really don't."

"I know, so I'm going to make it quick." Tony looked at Hollis "This isn't a conversation that you are invited into." He was tired of being polite.

"Excuse me?" Hollis snapped. She waited for Gibbs to stick up for her, but when he didn't she walked away.

Tony waited for Hollis to walk away and disappear in the ladies room before continuing. "I know you're mad, and you've got every right to be mad. Hell, I'm mad, but not at her. Not anymore. Gibbs you've got to see the look on her face, she's crushed, but she did it for the right reason. Ziva was right, I'd rather have had her playing dead for a few days than have her end up dead for real." Tony tried to read the expression on Gibbs' face. "She came back to us, now's your chance to make it right. To tell her everything you wanted to tell her but thought you had lost the chance to say."

"I can't think right now, Tony."

"She's got about three of your rules working for her right now."

Gibbs questioned him silently.

"Rule four, the best way to keep a secret is to keep it to _yourself_. It was a big MOAS, and she kept it to herself. Then she's got rule eighteen, better to seek forgiveness than ask permission. You never would've allowed her to get shot like that, even if it was to keep her safe. She didn't ask permission, and now she's seeking forgiveness, boss. Then we have rule fifteen. This one goes both ways, always work as a team. She wasn't exactly working as a team with us, but she worked as a team for the FBI to get this guy."

He looked for some sort of reaction of Gibbs face but saw none.

"She's also got DiNozzo rule one going for her. Do what you have to do for the ones you love. It might not seem like it, but if she didn't she might have died for real. Could you really imagine never seeing her again? Because of what she did, I'll wake up tomorrow and be able to come here and hug her. That's a big deal. Just think about it boss, she's miserable."

It hit Gibbs like a ton of bricks; she had been doing exactly what he beat into every one of his agents: Follow the rules.

---

It was eleven at night by the time everyone had left. There were still two FBI agent's waiting outside the director's office on protection detail for Abby. Gibbs got up from his desk and took the elevator down to the lab. He flipped on the light. He had avoided the dark and silent lab since he had last seen Abby, when she had been on her way down town. He remembered the last thing she had said to him, it had been playing over and over in his mind the past two days. "_I'll always come back, Gibbs, no matter what. Trust me"_.

Gibbs felt the need to smack the back of his own head. _Why hadn't I picked up on the double meaning of what she said?_ He didn't want to be in the lab any longer than he needed to be so he grabbed what he had come for and went back to the elevator.

Back in the squad room Gibbs took the stairs up towards the director's office. He nodded to the two agents outside Jen's office and then went inside.

Abby slept on the sofa along the wall. Quietly he crossed the room and sat on the coffee table resting his elbows on his knees to watch her. He thought he would never again see the woman in front of him. He had given up all hope of ever being truly happy again. It had crossed his mind that he would never again bring Caf-Pow down to the lab, or suffer through her awful taste in music, though the word suffer was meant as _silently enjoy_. He had looked forward to her birthday and the dinners they shared each year more than any other holiday.

Abby shifted in her sleep and mumbled something he wasn't able to decipher.

Gibbs gently lifted one of her arms and slid her grey stuffed hippo under it. At the touch of the soft hippo she grasped it tightly and muttered something else Gibbs was unable to understand. Gently he kissed her forehead before he left.

---

Abby took a deep breath. She was finally able to leave. She had spent the day in Jenny's office, when Fornell had called to tell her that Johnson had been arrested and was in custody, he told her she could go home. To get to the parking garage where her car still sat she needed to pass by Gibbs desk. Every time she looked at him she wanted to break into a million pieces. Seeing the hurt in his eyes made her regret the decision she had made, maybe she should've taken her chances with Johnson. Even if she had died, it likely wouldn't have hurt nearly as much as the hurt she felt every time she saw him. He hadn't spoken to her, or visited while she sat in the office. She knew there were no new cases, so he had sat at his desk all day, in the same office, without saying a word to her.

She walked slowly, the same sense of lead-laden shoes weighted her down the same way it had when she made her way downtown a few days prior. As she passed Gibbs, she ran her fingers lightly on the edge of his desk. She wasn't sure if he would look up at her, but she wanted him to know that she was there.

"I'm sorry." Abby's voice was a low whisper.

Gibbs didn't look up, he couldn't. He couldn't look up at her with breaking down, so he kept his eyes firmly planted on his computer screen. She had paused momentarily, but when he heard her footsteps resume, he knew he had to do something.

"I know."

Abby paused again. She looked over her shoulder at Gibbs, not sure if she had heard correctly, or if she had made it up in her mind. He was still staring at his computer screen, but his eyes were unfocused. She had heard correctly.

---

Abby was thankful to be back in her own bed. After spending two nights at the FBI office and another night at NCIS, she looked forward to a real bed. After a long, hot shower she had pulled out her favorite pajama's silky red shorts, and a black camisole. She didn't bother to get under the blankets. Once she collapsed down onto the bed she realized that the light was still on, she debated on whether or not to get up to turn it off, but decided against it. Her phone buzzed every few minutes, and she picked it up to check the caller I.D. First Tony had called then Ziva. Tony called again followed by McGee, Ducky and Jenny. Tony tried one last time before giving up. She nearly threw the phone against the wall when Fornell's name appeared. Eventually her phone stopped. Finally people had understood the fact that she wanted to be alone.

She heard the lock on her door flip, and then heard heavy footsteps in the hall. _Leave it to Tony to pick the lock on my door. Just leave me alone, Tony._

Abby lay facing the wall. "What do you want?"

"You."

"Gibbs?" Abby rolled over to see Gibbs standing next to her bed.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"No. but half a dozen people have called this evening, and I haven't answered, I just figured..."

"You didn't want to talk to me?"

"I do."

"What if I had called?"

"Just because I didn't answer doesn't mean I didn't check caller I.D."

"Get up."

Abby swung her legs over the edge of the bed and pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Get up."

Abby slowly stood and her eyes looked everywhere but at Gibbs. His voice was firm. "Look at me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because, when I look at you I see how much I hurt you and I can't stand it." Abby's lower lip trembled. "I hurt you so badly and it's something I swore I would never do."

"I know, I know…" Gibbs pulled her into a hug, crushing her to his chest. As upset as he had been over being left out of this 'secret', he had thought he would never hug her again and that hurt worse. Abby wept openly against his chest, her arms wrapped firmly around his torso, her fingers grasping at his shirt.

She struggled for air through her sobs, and Gibbs rubbed small circles on her back to try and calm her down. He knew that in hurting him, she had also hurt herself. Her sobs turned into a soft cry and then slowed to an occasional hitch in her throat.

"Here, sit." Gibbs moved them closer to the edge of the bed and sat down beside her. "I came here to tell you that I'm leaving…"

_--------------------_

_TBC…._

_Review ;) I might even post chapter 9 this evening!!_


	10. Chapter 9

Whoa there, a little antsy that Gibbs is abandoning Abby for good, are we? Sorry I didn't reply to anyone for the previous chapters comments… I knew I couldn't and not give it away. I can't spoil the cliff hanger that I was dangling ya'll over, now could I?

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"_I came here to tell you that I'm leaving…"_

Abby didn't give him a chance to finish. She was frantic. "What? No! Gibbs, you can't leave. I'll leave, if you can't work at NCIS with me, I understand, but don't punish the rest of the team. You can't leave them again, you can't."

"Shh, Abby... I'm just leaving for a few days. I'm not leaving NCIS, and neither are you. I just need a few a few days to clear my mind and to think. I'll be back, I promise. I just wanted to let you know. Last time I left without saying anything, and I regret that."

Gibbs touched his lips gently to her forehead before walking away.

------------------

"Well, well Probie. What brings you back? My roof isn't leaking. You must be here to finish that hot tub you promised to build me last time you were here?"

"I needed to get away and clear my mind, Mike."

"Uh oh, you get blown up again?"

"No."

Mike stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest "You aren't going inside until you tell me what brings you back. And don't think I'll believe you if you say it's because you miss me."

"Things just got a little overwhelming at NCIS. I just needed to take a few days in the sun."

"Uh huh." Mike stepped aside. "Don't think I count that as an explanation, but go ahead and set your bag in the back bedroom. Bring a couple of beers when you come out." Mike moved to his favorite chair on the deck overlooking the beach.

A few minutes later Gibbs reappeared, two beers in hand. He sat in the chair next to Mikes and handed him a beer.

"I know you aren't a man of many words, something is bothering you, but I won't press. So why don't you start with filling me in on that team you've got. Has Ziva finally hurt Tony yet? I swear that one is a loose cannon. The way DiNozzo checks her out… I'm surprised the boy still has eyes."

"I know."

Mike eyed him before taking a long drink of his beer. "How about that pretty little thing you've got hidden away in the lab. If you aren't going to do something about her, then I can't promise I'll keep my hands off when I visit next."

"She's why I'm here."

"Oh, she turned you down?"

"She was shot in downtown D.C."

Mike sat up and turned to fully face him. "She ok?"

"Fornell came to tell us they had her at the FBI morgue, showed me the photos of her lying in a puddle of her own blood…"

"Oh Probie…"

"Two days ago Fornell came back and said that it had all been an act. It's a long story, something about an old FBI case that Abby did forensics for. Abby was in danger, so they had to pretend to kill her. She's fine."

"That must've been hard on you." Mike settled back in his chair.

"It…" Gibbs tried to find the words to explain. "It hurt all over again."

"So if she's fine, why exactly are you here? Shouldn't you be wrapped around her in your bed? Wait – don't tell me you ran away from her. Is that why you're here, probie?"

"I don't know, it just… it hurt so badly. And then it wasn't real." He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before running his hand through his hair.

"I'm sure it wasn't something she wanted to do. Did you at least tell her that you love her?"

"No."

Mike sighed. "You just don't learn, do you? Such a probie mistake. What's the one thing you regretted most when you heard she died? I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you regret not telling her that you loved her sooner. Am I right?"

Gibbs looked at Mike and nodded.

"I just hope she's waiting for you when you get back."

---

_Abby stepped out of the café and squinted in the sunlight. She looked left and then right. With her Caf-Pow in hand she headed back towards the Navy Yard. She smiled as she passed three guys in baggy clothing hanging around a park bench. She hesitated when she heard car tires screeching on the road up ahead. She looked up to see a car with tinted windows fly around the corner and speed down the street in the direction of where she was. In slow motion, she saw the window roll down and the barrel of a gun point._

_Four shots were fired, one piercing her chest, just to the right of her heart._

_Tony and Ziva were on the scene in minutes._

_Tony crouched and held his jacket to Abby's chest to slow the blood. Abby's eyes were wide with shock. "Tell… tell Gibbs I'm not… not faking."_

_Tony pulled out his cell and dialed Gibbs number. "Boss…"_

Gibbs woke in a cold sweat, his heart pounding in his chest. He looked at the digital clock beside the bed; it was four in the morning in Mexico, meaning it was six in D.C. Abby was likely just waking up.

Her phone rang twice before she answered. Abby's voice was heavy with sleep. "Hello?"

"Abby."

"Gibbs?"

He could hear the rustling of sheets, and the click of the lamp by her bedside. The dream had been so real, that he hadn't been able to fight the urge to call and double check that she was really ok.

"Gibbs?"

"You ok, Abby?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm alright. Gibbs, are you ok?"

"I'm ok Abby. Go back to sleep." Gibbs hung up and stared up at the ceiling through the darkness. When sleep didn't claim him, he dressed and decided to go for a run along the beach.

He wiped the sweat from his brow as he headed back up the beach to Mike's house.

"Mornin' Probie. For a minute I thought you might've come to your senses and returned to that lab rat you love. Then I saw your stuff was still here."

"I called her."

"You tell her you love her?"

"No."

"Boy, you know if you hadn't been through so much in your life, I think I'd slap you right about now. You love her, and you know she loves you. That poor girl… she loves you, but doesn't know that you love her. Who's hurting who now?"

"I'm not hurting her."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure she's just fine. I remember how she was the last time you came down here."

"I told her I was leaving this time, I didn't last time."

"Yes, so that makes everything better." His voice full of sarcasm, he downed the last of his beer. "I'm sure she's just fine then."

---

Abby had been deep in sleep when her phone rang and woke her up. Her eyes were too heavy to open and look at the caller I.D. She struggled to flip her phone open and put it to her ear. The sound of Gibbs voice had woken her, and she struggled to sit up and flip the light on.

She had to repeat his name twice before he spoke again. She was confused when he asked if she was ok, and she stumbled for an answer. She asked if he was ok, he said that he was and that she should go back to sleep. But sleep never came. She had to be up for work in half an hour, and after hearing from Gibbs she knew she might as well just get up.

Abby used the time to take a long, hot shower. While she was eager to get back into the swing of things at work, she doubted things would be the same for quite some time, if ever. The day before had been her first day back and it had been awkward, but her friends made an attempt to normalize the day the best they could.

The second day Abby was first in the office. She put her stuff away, slipped into her lab coat and pressed play on her CD player. Gibbs team had no current cases, but one of the other teams needed a DNA sample run. She fired up her machines and set to work.

---

Gibbs knocked on her door and waited patiently for her to open.

She peeked through the peep hole before opening. "Jethro?"

"I can't do this. I'm sorry."

"Because you love her?"

Gibbs nodded.

Hollis shut the door. She didn't want or need to hear anymore.

---

Abby paced nervously in her lab. Gibbs was supposed to be back in the office today. She stopped when she heard the elevator ding, her heart stalled in her chest. She frowned slightly when she saw Tony.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, Abby." Tony joked. He knew she was nervous. "But relax. He isn't avoiding you, he's not here yet."

"You think he'll come down here?"

"I think so."

"I don't want him to feel pressured into talking to me until he's ready, so I'm going to stay in my lab. I won't go looking for him."

"Fair enough. Anyway, I just came to check on you. I'll stop in later, ok?"

"Thanks Tony. I appreciate it."

Abby was alone in her lab until early in the afternoon. McGee came in carrying a small box containing a gun in an evidence bag. "Hey Abby, Gibbs asked if you could run any finger prints you might find on the gun.."

"Oh. Yeah, sure."

McGee couldn't help but notice the look of disappointment on her face. "Oh Abby, it isn't like that. We got a call five minutes after he arrived and he's not even back yet. He sent me with the evidence because I'm supposed to start on a computer trail."

"I'm ok, McGee."

"Abby."

"Seriously, I'm ok. I'll get started on the tests. I'll call when I know something."

"Ok" McGee gave her shoulder a squeeze as he walked past.

It was nearly seven pm by the time she was done, but Abby was able to match the finger prints. She pressed speed-dial for McGee's desk. "McGee. I ran the finger prints from the gun, they match a Daniel Adams, I ran the registration number as well and the gun is registered to-"

"Navy commander Sarah McCloud."

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Well, Sarah McCloud was found dead in her home. So it looks at thought Daniel Adams shot her with her own gun. But the case has taken a new turn. I just got off the phone with Gibbs, Adams was found dead. He apparently killed himself. Go home, Abby. We can't do anything until Ducky takes a look at his body in the morning. Unless something comes up in autopsy to show that it wasn't suicide then the case is closed."

"Oh, alright. I'll see you tomorrow Timmy."

"Night Abby."

Abby hung up. She hated to think that her confrontation with Gibbs would half to wait one more day. Collecting her things Abby went to her car and drove home. Abby pulled into her parking spot at her apartment complex. She was slow in walking the long path from the parking lot to the front doors of her complex.

_Abigail, you really stepped in it this time… _Abby was deep in thought and didn't notice the dark figure sitting at the top of the steps by the door. She slowed her pace to dig her keys out of her pocket and then continued.

Abby was stepping up onto the first step when Gibbs said her name. She stumbled backwards, but grabbed the railing to steady herself and keep from falling.

"Jesus, Gibbs." Abby ran a hand over her face and took a deep breath before climbing the rest of the stairs. "Inside?" She looked at the door, unable to bring herself to look him in the eye. "Or would you prefer to talk out here?"

Gibbs glanced at the door. "Let's go in."

Abby slipped the key in the door to unlock it and stepped inside. She held the door open and waited for Gibbs to follow before letting it close behind him. They took the stairs to the second floor and Abby unlocked the door to her apartment.

She flipped on the light and stopped. Gibbs hadn't expected her sudden stop and his body collided with hers.

Gibbs momentarily forgotten, Abby glared at Fornell "What the _hell_ are you doing in here, again?"

"I didn't expect you to be here Jethro." Fornell stood from the chair he had been sitting on. "I here because you've been ignoring my calls, and I know I put you through a lot. I wanted to check up on you."

"Fornell, I swear to God if you break into my place again…" She clenched her fists. "Next time leave a message."

"Jethro, I've been meaning to talk to you as well."

"I've got nothing to say to you, Tobias."

"You know that I did what I had to do."

"Maybe, but I don't know if I can forgive you." Gibbs' eyes were cold and he stepped away from the door so that Fornell got the idea that he could leave.

Abby cringed at his words, _I don't know if I can forgive you_. If he couldn't forgive Fornell, someone he had known longer than her, she wasn't sure she could even begin to ask for his forgiveness for herself. Abby stepped into her kitchen while Fornell grabbed his jacket to leave. She stood by the kitchen sink, her hands supporting her, resting on the counter on either side of the sink. She heard the door close and Gibbs walk across the living room and then joined her in the kitchen.

She felt a tear well up in the outside corner of her eye, then spill and roll down her cheek. She looked over at Gibbs, waiting for him to say something.

He stepped forward and reached out to wipe the tear away with his thumb. "Don't cry. There have been enough tears the past week."

The touch of his thumb on her skin started a second tear down her cheek, and then a third and a forth.

Abby's body shook with sobs. Gibbs stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest.

"Shh, shh… Calm down, Abby. Breathe. Just breathe. It's ok." He soothed.

As Abby began to calm down, she turned in his arms to look up at him. "You don't think you'll forgive Fornell? You won't forgive me either, will you?"

Gibbs caught another tear as it followed the well-worn tracks down her cheeks, his rough thumb moving along her skin. "What makes you think I haven't already forgiven you?"

"You ran away to Mexico, again, and you avoided me at work today. I don't blame you. I really don't."

"Abby, I needed to clear my head, and I was busy today, but I'm here aren't I? I don't want to forgive Fornell because, well, because of him, I thought I had lost you for good."

"You couldn't lose me if you tried." She tried to smile, but failed miserably.

"I almost did, and it was my own fault."

Abby sniffed and stepped away from Gibbs to grab a tissue. "What are you talking about? This had nothing to do with you."

"I was losing you before all this drama. I almost lost you because of Hollis." The mention of Hollis' name caused Abby to frown, and Gibbs couldn't help but smile softly. "You really didn't like her, did you?"

"Something like that."

"We really need to talk about everything." Gibbs reached out and took hold of her arms and pulled her in for another hug. This wasn't something he would take for granted anymore.

Abby molded herself against his chest. "I don't want to talk about her."

"We don't have to talk about her then. But we still need to talk." Gibbs wrapped his arms a little tighter around her and lifted her to sit on the counter. He parted her legs to step between them.

"I noticed that ever since Hollis started working some NCIS cases you started acting differently." As he spoke, Gibbs undid her pigtails, letting her hair fall around her face. "When I asked you what was wrong you said it was guy issues." He raked his fingers along her scalp. "Then you were always talking about these random dates…"

"I wasn't seeing anyone, I made it up." She interjected.

"… and I was concerned about your well-being. You seemed to avoid any situation where I could ask you about it. I finally asked Tony to dig around and find out what's wrong."

"You asked Tony?"

"Yes, I asked Tony. I didn't know what else to do, you weren't talking to me. So imagine my surprise when Tony says he has the home address of the guy and then show's me my own info."

"He told you?"

"He did. And I'm glad he did. I was shocked, honestly Abbs, I never even thought you'd feel that way about me. I just wish I hadn't taken so long to figure everything out. Abby, I thought you were in the process of moving on. I stayed with Hollis after I found out because I thought… I thought it was better for you. And then all this happened and…"

"And what?" Abby was unsure of what else to say.

"And when I thought you were gone for good, my biggest regret was that I didn't do this…" Gibbs leaned forward to press his lips to hers.

_------------_

_TBC…_

_Review!!_


	11. Chapter 10

Last Chapter – Enjoy!

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Abby pressed into the kiss, hungry for closer contact. Gibbs had imagined the taste of her lips for years, and he wasn't far off. She tasted like caffeine and candy, a very 'Abby' combination. His tongue explored the sweetness of her mouth as his fingers tangled themselves in her hair. Abby's hands traveled to his neck. She brought one hand forward to his cheek while the other hand moved up to the back of his head, her fingers threading through his silver locks.

Gibbs pulled back slightly, biting gently on her lower lip. When he let go of her lip he pulled back a little further to look at her. Her eyes were closed, her breathing rapid. When she finally opened her eyes to look at him, her pupils dilated with desire. He kissed her again; their kiss powerful and raw, full of both want and need. He dragged his mouth away from hers kissing one cheek and then the other, tasting the salt from her tears, before moving to the tip of her nose and then each eyelid.

Gibbs ran his hands down her sides, down to her thighs. He his fingers ended behind her knees and he brought her legs up to wrap around his waist. Slowly he trailed kisses up the side of her neck, stopping just below her ear. With her legs securely around him, Gibbs wrapped his arms around her and nipped at her earlobe before lifting her off the counter.

---

Abby buried her face in his neck as he carried her towards her bedroom, inhaling his scent. Gibbs set her down on the edge of her bed and knelt in front of her. He started with her shoes, setting them aside neatly. Her socks were next. Abby took the initiative to lift her shirt over her head. She tossed it to the floor and with Gibbs assistance she stood so that he could unbutton the black jeans she was wearing. As he fumbled with the button he bent his head to kiss along her collarbone, starting at the center, and kissing until his lips reached her shoulder. Abby wiggled slightly to help the jeans pass over her hips and then kicked them from her legs. Gibbs stood back to look at her. She stood before him, unashamed, in her bra and panties, made from matching black lace.

Gibbs shrugged his jacket off, and watched as Abby took a step forward, her fingers fumbling with his belt. It didn't take long before his pants dropped to the floor. He pressed his lips to her hastily and then bent down to untie his shoes, take them off and then step free of the pants around his ankles. Abby wrapped her hands in the fabric of his shirt and then pulled upwards, forcing his hands up so she could slide the shirt up and over his head.

She ran her hands up his chest, out over his shoulders and back down his chest until her fingers rested on the waist band of his boxer. She stepped back towards the bed pulling him along with her. When the back of her calves touched the bed, Abby paused to let Gibbs unhook her bra before he lowered her to the bed.

Abby scooted back towards the center of the bed and reached out for Gibbs. He kneeled on the bed, his knees on either side of her thighs. Abby ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders, and her fingers splayed over his skin of his back when he leaned forward, bringing his mouth to one of her breasts.

Abby moaned at the tug of his teeth on one nipple and then the other.

Abby murmured a ragged protest as he moved away from her. He assured her he was going nowhere as he removed his boxers. Abby mirrored his movements and slipped her panties off. In a show of playfulness, she tossed them at him. Gibbs gave her a lop-sided grin and moved back to the bed gently positioning himself on top of her, taking his weight on his knees, careful not to crush her.

He pressed his lips to hers again; Abby's parting in welcome.

Reaching down between them, Gibbs found Abby wet and eager. He moved his fingers to her folds; his thumb teasing her clit until she whimpered his name and dampness flowed over his fingers.

The sound of his name falling from her lips was almost more than he could handle. He had long been hard, but now… reached down and touched himself to her, gliding his head up and down her opening until he was nestled an inch inside.

He looked up at Abby, to see her watching him through her lashes, her lids heavy with pleasure. He thrust his hips, sinking himself deep in her warmth.

"Oh Abby…" His kiss was sloppy as he lost his concentration, and he found it easier to watch her writhing in pleasure below him as their hips rocked together, than to kiss her.

With a few flicks of his fingers and a few well timed thrusts, both Abby and Gibbs found themselves falling off the edge of their release.

---

"Damn, Gibbs." Abby nestled up against him and placed a soft kiss on his chest.

"What?"

"If I had known that's what you were capable of, I would've fought against Hollis a little harder." Abby joked.

Gibbs knew she had been joking, but rolled on to his side to face her, his face serious. "Abby, you should've just told me. You have no idea how long I've wanted you. _No idea!_"

"It's not like you told me either."

"I know… but I'm telling you now."

"Me too." Abby was silent for a few minutes, and Gibbs could feel a question formulating in her mind.

"You have something you want to ask, Abbs?"

"Are we… are we ok? I mean, after… everything that happened?" Abby looked past him, focusing on something behind him.

Gibbs tilted her chin so that she looked at him. "Look at my eyes, Abby. We're ok. I can't lie and say my heart doesn't still ache, because it does. Being with you, kissing you, seeing you, feeling you… it all lessens the pain."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"Why did you call me?"

"Huh?"

"From Mexico, you called me that morning… why?"

"To make sure you were ok."

"At six in the morning… that means it was four in Mexico. Why?"

Gibbs lay back and looked up at the ceiling. "Because, Abbs. I was worried."

---

Abby had been on cloud nine the next morning at work, or so Tony had heard from Ziva. Curiosity got the best of him so he excused himself from the squad room and headed down. Rather than wait for the elevator, Tony took the stairs. When he reached the floor for the lab, he pressed the door from the stairwell open and was surprised that he didn't hear Abby music.

He went a few steps further but paused when he heard heated argument between two women.

"How dare you come back here!" Abby shouted.

"I came to finish what I started." Tony recognized Hollis' voice and cringed. _Ah, crap._ Tony didn't want to give himself away so he crept back to the stairwell before pulling out his phone.

"Gibbs."

"Uh, boss…" Tony's voice was a whisper. "We've got a situation… I'm down by Abby's lab. Hurry."

It took less than a minute for Gibbs to come flying down the stairwell, Ziva and McGee close on his heels.

"DiNozzo, what's going on…"

Tony put his finger to his lips "Shh… follow me."

Gibbs glared at him, but followed quietly. They could clearly hear the argument between the two women.

"You weren't there! You didn't see the hurt on his face when he thought you were dead. I should've put him out of his misery and told him where you were."

"You don't think I know that it hurt him, of course I… wait, tell him where I was? What are you talking about?"

"One of my old team members works for the FBI. He was part of the organizing team, he let it slip when I said I knew you."

Abby ran her hands across her nose and mouth to keep from hitting Hollis. "Loose lips, sink ships… the FBI is worthless. I can't believe-"

"You knew!" Gibbs ran in, stopping inches from Hollis, his fists clenched, obviously fighting back the urge to slap her. "You knew she was still alive, you knew how I was hurting, and you just let me believe? How could you!"

Abby rushed between them and turned to face Gibbs.

"Gibbs, this isn't your fight."

"Are you protecting me?" Hollis asked.

Abby's jaw tensed. She didn't turn to face Hollis, but her words were directed at her. "I'm not protecting you, if I thought it would solve anything you'd be flat on your ass right now, but since it won't…" Abby held eye contact with Gibbs. "Tony, Ziva, McGee… take him out of here."

"I'm not leaving, Abby."

"Yes you are, it's my lab. Out. Tony? Ziva? McGee?"

"Abby… we… we can't…" Tony and Ziva exchanged nervous glances before looking back at Abby. "We can't make Gibbs go anywhere."

"God, you guys are weak." Abby looked around briefly before grabbing Hollis' wrist, jerking her sideways and then shoving her in her office, locking the door behind her.

"Abby!" The team pounded on the door.

Abby ignored them and drew the blinds.

"Did you really come back just to get in my face, Hollis?"

"I know you'd like to think everything is about you, but no. I'm here to terminate my 'loan' to NCIS. I handed in my letter of resignation and retirement. I'm leaving D.C."

"Good, don't let the door hit you on your way out."

"Wow, I would've thought you'd let Gibbs take care of you, now that he's _yours_, but this… pushing me into your office, it's impressive."

"He always was mine, Hollis. That's the sad part. You never opened your eyes to see it. You had to worm your way in anyways."

"I was invited. God, when I see you with him, I don't know whether to ask how much he paid for you, or congratulate him on the adoption. Though, with the way you dress, I'd go with cheap hooker over adopted daughter-replacement. I don't think he'd tarnish Kelly's memory with someone like you."

Abby stepped forward until she was inches from Hollis' face. "Tell me, how does it feel to be second best, Hollis?"

"I'm nobody's second best."

"That's not what he told me last night." Abby gave Hollis an exaggerated wink as she turned and walked away to sit on the counter on the opposite side of the room. She dug a nail file out from one of the cupboards and worked on one of her nails.

Hollis groaned in disgust. "You two are made for each other. I'd warn you, tell you, that you'll never be his number one… never beat his first wife, which you'll always be second best to, but you know, I don't care. Burn in hell."

Abby smiled coolly as Hollis unlocked the door. "Right back at'cha, Hollis right back at'cha."

Gibbs, Ziva, McGee and Tony tried to listen the best they could through the glass window, but could hear nothing. They stepped away from the door when Hollis stepped out. They didn't see Abby, and Hollis looked a bit flushed, so they ignored her and rushed in. "Abby?"

Abby hopped down. "Relax guys, I'm all good."

Gibbs was at her side in a flash. "Abby, did she hurt you?" His hands cupped her face as he examined her for any signs of having been hit.

Abby's eyes widened. "Did you not see what I did to Fred? Trust me, if she had put a hand on me, she'd be in a broken mess on the floor."

Ziva nodded slightly at Abby and Gibbs when Tony looked at her. He raised his eyebrow in question and Ziva nodded again.

"Ok, boss. There is no simple way to ask this, but um…" Tony stammered. Gibbs looked at him over his shoulder, his hands remaining on Abby's face.

"Yes, DiNozzo?"

"You remember our, um, conversation… at the bar?"

"Yeah, about that…" Abby waved Gibbs hands from her face and moved around him. She marched up to Tony and glared at him before breaking into a smile. "… Thanks for telling my secret, Tony." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

Tony gave a sigh of relief. "Welcome, Abby."

She pulled back and glared at him again and then socked him in the arm. "If you ever tell one of my MOAS's again, I will kill you!"

"But… you just… Abby?"

"Come Tony, let's go upstairs." Ziva pulled gently on his arm. McGee followed along.

Gibbs waited until the agents were gone. "Mind if I stay down here a bit longer?"

"Think the bitch from hell will be back?"

"Nah. I just want to be around you."

Abby directed him out of her office and into the lab. "I can handle that. Here, you can sit at my desk. I've got to load a few samples into major mass spec."

Gibbs watched her move about her lab. There was something strangely comforting in the way she worked, her movement precise and calculated, the very opposite of the way she was off the job. When she finished she moved towards him and pushed him back a bit from her desk so she could sit on his lap. Gibbs hadn't been a lot of things until Abby had come into his life. As much as he was against any sort of major public displays of affection at work, he never had been a fan, he couldn't help but let her nibble along his neck. When it came to work he needed to focus on the case at hand, he wasn't very good at multi-tasking when it came to his job and his woman. But after all the drama, he wasn't about to neglect her.

He had also never been a cute nick-names sort of guy, 'Abbs' was proof of that. He could never come up with something a la 'silver-haired fox' which Abby had bestowed upon him. The best he could come do was to run his thumb along her cheek possessively and call her _'his girl' _and he knew that she was ok with that.

Her cell phone rang, but she ignored it.

"Abby, your phone."

"It's not you calling, no need to answer."

Gibbs reached around her and picked up her phone, looking at the caller ID. "Who's Joe?"

"Joe?" Abby cocked an eyebrow and plucked her phone from Gibbs hands. "Hello? Oh hey, Joe… uh huh… I do? Oh, sweet…. Yeah it was a few weeks ago, I'd love to… yeah, for sure…. Ok. Can I get back to you on a date and time? Great, talk to you soon."

Gibbs watched Abby's face and strained to listen to the other side of the phone conversation.

Abby hung up and placed the phone back on her desk. "So anyway, where were we?"

"Wondering who Joe is?"

"Are you jealous?"

"Will you tell me who he is if I say yes?"

"Yes."

Gibbs sighed and looked around the lab to make sure no one was around. "Alright. I'm a_ little_ jealous."

A grin spread from ear to ear on Abby's face. "Joe was my batting instructor from before that NCIS-Army CID game we had a while back. I guess I still have one lesson left in the package I bought."

"Batting instructor?"

"Yeah, I wasn't going to go out there to look like a fool. I was trying to impress you and intimidate Hollis. You and Tony couldn't teach me to bat like I did in three batting cage meet-ups. I hired a pro and had lessons three days a week for the three weeks before the game."

"You're unbelievable, you know that right?"

"An unbelievable batter ever since I paid $900 to impress you. I should send you a bill."

"$900?! Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell me how you felt?" Gibbs knew she was paid fairly well, but still, to drop $900 on batting practice was over the top.

"Nope."

Gibbs pulled on the collar of her shirt, exposing her collar bone. He touched his lips to her and murmured against her skin. "You really think I'm worth $900 in batting lessons?"

"No. You're worth more… I just got a good deal." Abby dropped her head back, giving him better access to her neck.

"And the poker?"

Abby pushed Gibbs away and gave him a stern look. "Oh no, I kicked her ass on my own that time."

Gibbs gave her a lop-sided grin and pulled her close. "How about I take you home?"

"I think that might be a good idea… You've got a $900 bill to work off. I certainly hope you aren't busy this weekend."

"Well I had planned to spend time with my favorite forensic scientist, but I could probably cancel. I'm sure she'd understand that I need to spend time with _my girl_."

Abby smiled. She understood.

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_End._

So I hope we all enjoyed this latest Gabby story… I love all your comments/suggestions/reviews. They really inspire me and make me a better writer. Also, you often spark ideas for new stories. Thanks Everyone, I hope you enjoyed!


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